No Matter What
by WingsofHaine
Summary: For her, she'd be willing to do anything... even give up her femininity. She'd be willing to be a guy... no matter what. All for her... Too bad Sasuke won't leave her be. SasufemNaru.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**:No Matter What

**Series**: Naruto

**Summary**: For her, she'd be willing to do anything... even give up her femininity. She'd be willing to be a guy... no matter what. All for her... Too bad Sasuke won't leave her be.

**Pairings**: SasuFemNaru

**Warnings**: FemNaru, possible (and likely) OOC, mild profanity, not betaed

**AN**: right... so... I should be doing my other fic... but this wouldn't leave me... so I just decided that this would do. Sorry?

minor editing: 6.15.09

minor editing II: 7.23.10

* * *

**No Matter What**

_Prologue_

Naru stared up at the sky, her blank eyes glazing over in thought. Once again, no one would play with her. It wasn't all too surprising, to be honest. It had always been that way, after all. Her very presence garnered hate filled glares from the villagers. She never understood why. Their cries of "monster" were as unexplainable as why anyone would hate ramen. She just couldn't understand. Weren't monsters supposed to be ugly and green and disgusting? As far as she was aware, she wasn't _that_ ugly and she certainly wasn't _green_... She why did everyone hate her? She sighed.

Suddenly, she heard a giggle. Huh? Where did it... she blinked at the pink haired girl staring down at her. _'Kirei...'_

"Ne... why are you here all by yourself? Do you wanna play with me?" the girl chirped happily, offering her hand. It took a while for Naru to comprehend, having been amazed by the fact that someone was actually talking to her. But when she did, a wide smile adorned her face. Grabbing hold of the hand in front of her, Naru replied with an "Un!" and pushed herself up.

"I'm Sakura! Ha-ru-no Sakura!" she enunciated, humming cheerfully.

Naruto blushed and stammered out, "I-I'm Naru. Uzumaki Naru."

Sakura giggled. "Naru? Huh. Uzumaki Naru! You'll be my friend, won't you!" She exclaimed delightedly, taking the blond's hands into her own. Naruto flushed with happiness.

"Un!" She nodded rapidly. Friend? Friend...? Her first friend!

The twenty minutes they played together were one of Naru's happiest, just below receiving that frog wallet from Ji-san. Possibly even better! ...maybe. Sadly, all happy times had to come to an end eventually. Their's ended with a "SAKURAAA! Where are you!" coming from the other side of the park.

Sakura stopped digging in the sand. "Ah! That's my mom! I have to go! Let's play again okay!" She smiled when Naru nodded. "Okay! Bye bye!"

Unfortunately, that play date never came. No matter how long Naru waited at the park, day after day, Naru never saw Sakura again. But one day, she heard crying. Following the sound into the woods nearby, Naru was shocked to see a familiar pink haired girl clutching her legs as tears poured from green eyes. _'... Sakura-chan?'_

Naru watched as she cried, but no matter how hard she tried to move and comfort the girl, she found herself rooted to the spot. _'Come on! Come on! MOVE! Sakura-chan is crying! Move! MOVEMOVEMOVEMOVE! MOVE you pathetic girl! MOVE!' _It didn't matter how many times she yelled at herself to move. She didn't.

_'Sakura-chan needs you! Your first and only friend needs you! And all your doing is just standing there watching? Comfort her!' _Naru watched on helplessly. Why couldn't she help her...? _'She's your only friend!'_

But was she really? They had only played that one time. Sakura had never come to play with her again even though she had said she would.

She shook her head furiously. What did that matter?_ 'Sakura-chan is crying! Even though she hadn't come to play with her, she said they were friends so they were! Now move! She's waiting there for you!'_

Long after Sakura stopped crying and a blond haired girl - Yamanaka Ino if she remembered correctly - comforted her, Naru stood rooted to the spot, staring. Even after they left, Naru stared at the last place she'd seen Sakura and her hands clenched periodically. _'Pathetic... I'm so weak...'_

Naru decided then and there, she'd help that girl in any way she could. She wouldn't fail her again. She would never doubt her. No. Matter. What.

_

* * *

_

Throughout the next week, Naru used all her subtlety and stealth in observing the girl. By using all her patience, Naru found she came from a civilian family and was the only kunoichi – really, the only _ninja –_ in her family. That meant that she had probably been warned away from her by her family. The civilians always told children stories about her and how she'd go and eat them if they didn't do their homework... Ninjas... well... it depended on which family you came from. The major clans were usually better... though they _still_ told their children to stay away. The lesser clans were no better than the civilians, telling their children that she'd gut them in their sleep and eat their intestines if they didn't study hard. Like she was some demented s-class missing nin. Honestly, it sickened her a bit and it didn't even make sense! How was someone her age supposed to do all of that? But she was getting side-tracked... back to _Sakura-chan..._

Due to the teasing from her peers, Sakura-chan was self conscious of her forehead and lacked confidence in herself. She didn't have many friends though Yamanaka-san was slowly fixing that and introducing her to more girls. Despite her lack of confidence, she was smart and was able to answer all the questions asked by the teachers, much to Naru's pride.

Naru took this all home, pondering over it. _'Sakura-chan. Civilian turned ninja. Self-conscious. Lacks confidence.' _How could she help her? '_Sakura-chan. Civilian turned ninja. Self-conscious. Lacks confidence.' _What could she do?_ 'Sakura-chan. Civilian turned ninja. Self-conscious. Lacks confidence.' _What does she need?_ 'Sakura-chan. Civilian turned ninja. Self-conscious. Lacks confidence.' _What can I do for someone who has someone like Yamanaka-san?

Far off into the distance, Naru could hear some voices giggling over this boy or another and how they boosted their confidence so much when being fawned over. She scowled. Did they _have_ to talk so loud? Not everyone wanted to hear about what this cute boy did and how he made her want to do this. What was so great about boys any way? They had cooties! What, did their "fawning" make girls feel special? She just couldn't - That was it! It hit Naru like a sledgehammer. '_Yes... that could work... That is... if those girls are to be believed. Eh, we'll see. But first, I'll need to tell Oji-san...' _A smile lit up, satisfied that she'd finally thought up a plan.

"I'll help you Sakura-chan! In any way I can, I'll help you. I'll protect you. I'll do anything for you." She whispered into the wind, going to sleep. Meanwhile, an old man felt a headache plague him, as though preparing him for the next day.

When she woke up the next morning, Uzumaki Naru grabbed a kunai and chopped off her hair before anyone found out and could stop her. It was uneven but it would do. It's not like boys cared about their looks anyway. Uzumaki Naruto was born.

"For her, I'll do anything. It's all for her."

* * *

_Chapter 1_

_(From here on out, "Naru" shall now be known as "Naruto")_

Today was a great day in Konoha. It was day of progression. It was a day in which many hopes would be realized... or crushed. Today... was the day in which academy students were tested on their ability to become genin. A classroom full of said students waited nervously for their names to be called.

Admist that majority, however, Uzumaki Naruto, formerly known as Uzumaki Naru, stared at Haruno Sakura with what many of her peers would call "lovesick" eyes. It was no secret to them that orange clothed "boy" had a crush on the pink-haired girl. What many didn't see was the calculating glint that never failed to appear whenever Naruto gazed at Sakura. Naruto was always analyzing the girl in order to decide how to act. She didn't really have any romantic affections towards the kunoichi-in-training but used it as an excuse to watch her and find ways to boost her confidence as well as act as her protector. Her priority was Sakura-chan!

No one ever questioned the change in the Kyuubi container's gender – no one really cared. The Sandaime had originally been against such a change but acquitted to Naruto's demands after some thought. Besides, it lowered the chances of her facing the desires of a man of no morals. He easily tossed the possible identity issues this may cause to her to the back of his mind. She'd do whatever she wanted anyway - with or without his approval - stubborn brat that she was. And so, Naruto put all her effort into keeping the pink-haired girl happy.

She'd decided that night so long ago that she'd act as a boy in love with the kunoichi-in-training so that her morale and confidence would be higher. She decided to celebrate this decision by threatening the girls who had teased Sakura for her forehead... behind the scenes of course. Amazing technique, the henge.

Yamanka Ino had done wonders for Sakura in terms of confidence to a point where Naruto wondered if she really needed to to act as a lovesick puppy. Maybe she could just act like a friend again?

But one day, they just stopped talking to each other. Stopped being friends. Wouldn't even look at each other. Through some snooping, Naruto found out that they had a tiff over Uchiha Sasuke. Sakura had been in a dump for weeks and Naruto tried everything she could to mend their friendship. But it never worked and the two girls would always just glare at each other before walking away. This incident had created the first strike against Sasuke. If it wasn't for him, her Sakura-chan wouldn't be sad! She'd given up all hope of restoring their friendship and just decided that she'd have to work on Sakura by herself. That day, Naruto declared "his" love for the whole village to hear. Thoroughly embarrassed, Sakura punched Naruto's lights out... but at least she got her spirit back!

It went like that for years without anyone ever realizing what was going on. Whenever Sakura got depressed, Naruto would be there and through some act of stupidity, she'd revive her spirit.

Today, Naruto stared at the girl in search of a way to clear her nervousness. She knew Sakura would do fine but how to convince her of that? She conveniently pushed aside her own worry over the exam. She just _knew _that they'd test her on bunshin. She _sucked_ at bunshin. No matter how hard she tried, it never turned out correctly. Not to mention that she might not be on Sakura's team anyway. How could she protect her if she wasn't on the same team?

"Ne, ne! Sakura-chan! You look so pretty today! Did you dress up just for me? I know! Let's go out on a date!"

"Baka! You're disgusting!"

Naruto let the insult roll over her and secretly smiled. Her nervousness had disappeared. "Awww! Sakura-chan! It's just a date!"

"No! Go away! You're so annoying!"

Sakura looked ready to explode and Naruto wisely decided to retreat. Her plan had worked anyway.

One hour later, "Uzumaki Naruto!" was called and Naruto walked into the testing room to see Iruka-sensei and Mizuki sitting behind a desk.

"Naruto. Please make three bunshins," Iruka requested.

She winced. '_It just had to be bunshin didn't it?' _Concentrating with all her might, Naruto gathered the chakra needed to make three bunshins. Unfortunately, all that came out was a sickly, pale looking bunshin.

"You FAIL!" Naruto felt a bit faint upon hearing those words. Failed? Again? But what about Sakura-chan...?

"Umino-san. Surely we can pass him. He made a bunshin after all," the silver-haired instructor said.

"No." Iruka shook his head with a sigh. He looked apologetically at his blond student. "He failed to make the required amount and the one he did make is useless. I'm sorry but you fail Naruto."

Naruto felt her heart fall to her stomach. '_Oh god... How am I going to protect Sakura now? She'll be on missions and be a great ninja in no time! But... but... how am I supposed to help her! Not to mention that whole thing involving first kills and the horrors she'd possibly face on mission! How can I help her if I don't even know! There's also that whole classified thing and if I was a civilian it'd be impossible to help her with the big stuff if I had so little knowledge!'_

These thoughts plagued her even as she sat on the swing, watching the recent graduates greet their families.

_"Look! It's that demon!"_

_"Shhh! You know you're not supposed to talk about that!"_

_"I know. But it seems he failed."_

_"Just as well. Can you imagine him as a shinobi?"_

_"Disgusting."_

Naruto felt her heart fall lower than ever. Would the whispers ever stop? An old dream of being Hokage and achieving acknowledgment from the village came to mind but was quickly discarded. It was second to Sakura. She had to protect Sakura. She only came after Sakura. And if that meant giving up her dream... so be it. But how to protect her now that she'd failed to do the bunshin _again? _Maybe she could become a samurai that used ninja techniques? Or maybe she could become a ninja without actually being the _ninja_ part... Like she could have all the techniques and-

Naruto suddenly felt a presence behind her.

"Naruto-kun? Would you come with me for a moment?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Title**:No Matter What

**Series**: Naruto

**Summary**: For her, she'd be willing to do anything... even give up her femininity. She'd be willing to be a guy... no matter what. All for her... Too bad Sasuke won't leave her be.

**Pairings**: SasuFemNaru

**Warnings**: FemNaru, possible (and likely) OOC, mild profanity, not betaed, lots of short scenes?

**AN**: (Snickers)... I really loved writing this chapter. So please enjoy it! Note: At certain times, Naru will be referred to as a "he" got it? And sometimes she'll be called Naru (only twice).

Minor editing: 6.15.09

Minor editing II: 7.23.10

* * *

**No Matter What**

_Chapter 2_

_'Duhn... Duh duhn... Duh Duhn Duhn! Doom... Doom doom... doom doom doom,' _Naruto sung in her head, as she crept through the Hokage tower. Several ANBU had noticed the child but decided to let her go through. She was a common visitor to the Hokage and always came in strange ways, including, but not limited to, frog hopping up the stairs, leaving a bread crumb trail behind her and putting a coin in front of every plant. They would later hit themselves over the head for thinking that this was just another weird stunt of hers.

Ten minutes and one knocked out Hokage kage bunshin later, Naruto found herself in the old man's office trying to push a bookshelf. '_Why the fuck is this so heavy? Jii-san is an old man, albeit a perverted one but still! How the hell is he supposed to push this? This is the shelf Mizuki-sensei was talking about isn't it?' _Deciding to put all her weight behind it, Naruto pushed... and promptly fell on her ass taking down a few books with her. It seems that she tripped over her own feet.

"Owie... That actually hurt... Damn bookshelf," Naruto muttered under her breath, picking up the books that had fallen. Randomly putting them back in their place, Naruto noticed something odd sticking out behind one of them. Looking closer to see what it was, Naruto saw a button. It conveniently had a sign that said, "Forbidden scroll here. Press to move bookshelf."

"Oh..." A bit wary of it's convenience, she decided to push the button anyway. The bookshelf moved aside to reveal a long corridor. Putting her hand through to test for traps, Naruto deemed it safe and strolled in. "Huh... this isn't all that bad..."

Unfortunately, she spoke to soon. A few seconds later, multiple spears came shooting towards her. Scared out of her mind, Naruto ran forward, only to meet a huge log with thousands of senbon sticking out of it.

"Oh my god! I'm going to die! Kami-sama! Save me!" Somehow managing to survive the log, Naruto tripped over a wire, triggering a trap that caused hundreds of kunai to come hailing towards her. Naruto whimpered and did not move from her position on the floor. Luckily for her, the giant log decided to swing back towards her and ended up blocking the kunai's path, deflecting them. The log also failed to hit her due to her decision to stay on the ground. Waiting for the log to come back, Naruto decided to tread carefully.

'_I wonder if it was a mistake to take this test... Now that I think about it, it does seem a bit fishy. But this might be my only chance to be on the same team as Sakura-chan! I must not fail!' _Despite her carefulness, Naruto still set off many, many, _many _traps.

_'Just how long is this corridor!' _Naruto thought, dodging the flames that periodically turned on and off. Finally, after numerous amounts of hardships, Naruto found herself in large circular room that contained a stand with a large scroll balancing on top of it. "Forbidden Scroll. Do not touch," was engraved onto the prestigious white marble scroll holder.

"Pssshhh. I came all the way here just to get that scroll! Like I'm going to leave it after almost dying like a million bazillion times!" Naruto huffed, grabbing the scroll and strapping it to her back. Just before turning around, Naruto noticed a some more words engraved on the stand that were previously covered by the Forbidden Scroll. "Don't say I didn't warn you," Naruto read aloud, a bit confused.

Suddenly, the room started to shake and pieces of rubble came crashing down. "What the hell is going on?" Naruto cried out. Looking around, Naruto noticed a HUGE boulder crashing its way towards her.

"Oh shit."

* * *

_Meanwhile, with the Hokage..._

Where was he during all of this you might ask? Well... he was in the bathroom... reading his precious Icha Icha. "Oh Hotaru! You naughty, naughty girl!" he giggled. Sure, he was shoving off his duty and the paperwork would probably multiply but that's what he left his kage bunshin for.

"Hokage-sama," one of his ANBU coughed. "Uzumaki Naruto is here to see you."

"Hmm... oh yes. That's fine," Sarutobi muttered, distracted by the interesting turn of events in which Lily, Hotaru's foreign arch nemesis, had decided to join her and Kaito in a threesome. "That old pupil of mine may cause me trouble with his perverted ways but at least it's worth it."

Thirty minutes later and still in the bathroom, Sarutobi started to feel a tingling in the back of his mind, signaling that the forbidden scroll had been moved. However, he had yet to receive any memories from his clone so surely nothing must be wrong. Maybe it had just fallen? He went back to his novel.

Ten more minutes later and the tingle still there, Sarutobi decided he had read enough of the precious Icha Icha and should probably go back to his office and towards that blasted paperwork. Damn... Hmm... ten more minutes wouldn't hurt anyone would it?

* * *

_Back to Naruto..._

Naruto... was running for her life, faster than she'd ever run before. _'Oh my god...! Oh My God! OH MY GOD! OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG! I'm gonna die! I don't want to die!' _

She was sure that the evil, huge, monstrous boulder was catching up to her but couldn't even look back to check. The traps she had set off before were still on and she had to dodge those, _while _outrunning the boulder. Not to mention that there were still a few traps she had failed to set off, like that quicksand trap and that genjutsu trap and that pit with dangerously sharp spikes and venomous snakes that randomly opens when you step on that one certain step. Yeah... needless to say... Naruto was screwed.

Naruto could feel the ground shaking even more as the boulder got closer. "I need a _fucking_ miracle Kami-sama! Grant me my miracle!"

Down in pits of her stomach where the seal was located, Kyuubi was sitting down, wishing for some popcorn. He couldn't help but wonder why he was stuck with such a weird host. Couldn't it have been male at least? At least _they_ were a little less over dramatic. Though... it _was_ quite amusing.

Just as she was beginning to lose hope of any reprieve, Naruto spotted what seemed to be an enclave in the wall. Hoping to god that it wasn't another trap, Naruto threw herself at the wall, silently praying that it would be big enough to hide her and the scroll until the boulder passed by. '_What kind of test is this for a genin? Gotta remember! It's for Sakura-chan! It's for Sakura-chan! IT'S FOR SAKURA-CHAN!__'_

Hearing a loud "BOOM!" signifying that the boulder had halted to a stop, Naruto sighed with relief and crawled out of the small enclave. She was almost getting claustrophobic there for a moment. Damn... she would never look at rocks the same way again. Carefully making sure not to set off any new traps and dodging the ones already set off, Naruto safely made her way back towards the exit... which was blocked by the boulder.

_'I hate boulders... I _really_ hate them...' _Naruto couldn't help but think, staring at the huge rock in disbelief. "How the fuck am I supposed to go out now?"

Searching around walls for a sign, Naruto noticed a button. A shiny, green button. With no sign. "Well... At least its not red," Naruto muttered, pressing the button and praying that she wouldn't die. '_I don't think I've ever prayed so much in my life before...'_

When the corridor started to shake, Naruto bit out a series of words that would've made a hooker blush in embarrassment. Tense and prepared to move out of the way should something come flying towards her with the intent to kill, Naruto was not prepared for tiny ducks in an orderly line to come out of a hole created during the shaking.

All but one moved towards the traps, clearing them away and resetting them. The one that was left behind jumped up and slammed its head against the wall. When a portion of the wall slid to the side revealing another duck with glasses sitting behind a window, the previous duck (which shall now be referred to as duck no. 1) said, "CUt13 DucK5t3r 501239; code: r3v3al P4554g3W4Y. quack."

The wall moved back in place, hiding the duck with glasses. Moments later, a huge section of the corridor wall fell away, revealing another corridor. Duck no.1 moved towards the boulder blocking the entrance and _lifted it__. _Moving towards the newly revealed corridor which Naruto happened to be blocking, Duck no. 1 stopped, glaring at her, and said, "Would you please _move_ , you incompetant fool?"

Naruto blinked and moved out of the way. When Duck no. 1 walked down the corridor, the wall closed again. Looking back towards the other end of the corridor, Naruto saw that the other ducks had reset all the traps, repaired all the damage, and had disappeared. Moving towards the exit, slightly hysterical, Naruto just shook her head thinking, _'Ridiculously strong, talking ducks...' _After exiting the corridor, she pushed a button that moved the bookshelf back in its place.

Moving quickly, Naruto jumped out the window and landed on a nearby roof. Now, towards the designated spot... and when she met that asshole of an assistant teacher, she'd kill him for making that test so fucking hard...

* * *

_With old man Sarutobi..._

Finally able to tear himself away from the book, Sarutobi headed towards his office. Seeing his clone knocked out with a bloody nose, Sarutobi couldn't help but wonder just had happened. Dismissing the kage bunshin and receiving its memories, the Sandaime had to wonder... _'Naru? Just what are you up to now?' _

Searching the room for pranks, he noticed that some books on the bookshelf were out of place. "You've got to be kidding me. Why would she... She wouldn't possibly..."

Sarutobi quickly moved to the wall and knocked, revealing the same duck with glasses that Naruto had seen before. "Could you open the passageway to the chamber, please?" The duck nodded and the wall covered him once more.

The bookshelf moved aside to reveal a large room, empty of the treasure it was supposed to contain. The Sandaime paled and called his ANBU to gather all chuunin and above.

Ten minutes later, Sandiame had announced that the Forbidden Scroll was missing and that the culprit was believed to be Naruto, bringing forth cries for her death. Sandaime silenced them all with a glare. "I want him brought to me _alive_ and _unharmed_. Do you understand? If I find that any of you have harmed him, you'll be sent to T&I with Anko and Ibiki. Together. You're dismissed."

Turning back and heading towards his office, the Sarutobi sighed. _'What are you up to now, Naru...?'_

_

* * *

__Iruka..._

Iruka had a hard time believing that Naruto had actually stolen the scroll while being fully aware of just what he was doing. Sure, he may be a brat and a prankster as well as annoying and every teacher's nightmare, but he wouldn't actually steal something as important as that while being _aware_ of the situation. The brat was too loyal to Konoha.

However, he knew that not everyone shared this view and that, despite the Hokage's warning, many would use this chance to kill the Kyuubi vessel. Which was why he was trying so hard to find Naruto before everyone else. _'That damned brat,' _he thought fondly.

While they may not have been the closest the two people could be, he and Naruto had some sort of bond, one could call it. Naruto would constantly pull pranks on his peers (Iruka had yet to figure out the pattern) and Iruka would constantly either stop them from occurring or clean up the mess left behind. Through these interactions, he and Naruto had created a fondness for each other, or so he'd like to think. They'd even shared a few bowls of ramen over dinner sometimes. Add that on top of Iruka's empathy for Naruto's loneliness (which was what he thought was Naruto's reason for pranking) and you have their current relationship.

He just couldn't let someone harm one of his students! Especially one he's somewhat fond of. With that thought, Iruka sped up, determination entering his eyes.

* * *

_Sasuke...  
_

Sasuke was bored. True, he _could_ be sleeping or out training to get stronger so that he could avenge his clan and kill _that man_, that _bastard_... but it was one of those days (technically, nights) where the thought of revenge didn't seem to motivate him (Yes... it's true. The thought of killing Itachi didn't motivate him all the time. Gasp!). And so, he was bored... and staring out the window while eating an onigiri.

Something bright and orange caught his eye. _'The dobe? What the hell is he up to now? And what's with that giant scroll on his back?'_

Deciding that even following the _dobe_ would be better than his current boredom, Sasuke opened the window and launched out, stealthily stalking our beloved hero(ine). After some time, he found himself hiding in a tree watching the dobe settle down in front of a small cabin, the scroll laid out in front of him.

"Let's see... This is the location so... I just need to learn one of these right? Hmm... damn... I hate kanji... er... Kage bunshin...? BUNSHIN? DAMN IT! (sigh) I guess there's no choice." The dobe stood up and got into a stance, making the required hand sign. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A poof appeared to reveal... nothing. Sasuke quietly snickered. What a loser. Naruto scratched his head. "Huh... let's try that again!"

After some number of failed attempts, Naruto started to work up a sweat and decided to take off his jacket. Due to the loose t-shirt "he" wore, from his vantage point high up in the tree, Sasuke could see bandages peaking out. Bandages? Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows, a frown making it's way to his face. Was the dobe injured?

When Naruto finally achieved the kage bunshin, he smiled satisfyingly and put his jacket on once more. Sasuke was still confused... and in a tree. Why would the dobe wear bandages over his chest? He didn't _seem_ injured...

Unfortunately, life didn't really seem to care about his confused state and decided that now was a good time for Iruka-sensei to show up.

* * *

_Normal POV..._

"Ahem. Naruto!" Iruka shouted, a bit red in the face, startling Naruto, who was not expecting him.

"AH! Jeez don't scare me like that sensei!" Naruto complained, turning around to face him. Her face suddenly brightened up. "Ah! But I mastered a technique! That means I've passed and can become a genin right?"

Iruka blinked. "What?"

"Yeah! Mizuki-sensei told me I just gotta get this scroll, come here and learn a technique before anyone found me and I'd become a genin!" Naruto chirped, happy to be on the same team as her beloved Sakura-chan. She was sure that would be the outcome! After all, it wouldn't do for anything else to happen.

"Mizuki...?" Iruka was confused. "But he..."

Suddenly a barrage of shuriken came hailing down on them. Iruka pushed Naruto out of the way but ended up partially pinned to the cabin.

"That's right. I told him," Mizuki said, stepping out so that he could be seen on the tree. "Naruto! Give me the scroll!"

"NO! Naruto, don't! Whatever you do, don't give him the scroll! It contains forbidden jutsu that no one's supposed to get a hold of!" Both Naruto and Sasuke blinked. Forbidden jutsu? "Mizuki's just using you!"

Naruto glanced between the two chuunins as Mizuki just chuckled. "Eh... Well... it doesn't matter for you anyways, Naruto. I'll tell you a secret."

"Secret?" Naruto muttered, tilting her head to the side, interest peaked.

"As you know, twelve years ago, the Kyuubi attacked Konoha..."

"NO! DON'T SAY IT!" Iruka shouted, vehemently struggling against the shuriken holding him.

"And a new S-class secret was made, one that wasn't to be told to you specificallly..."

"Me?"

"STOP IT!"

"And that secret was that YOU ARE THE KYUUBI!" Mizuki shouted, now laughing maniacally. "The Fourth sealed you and everyone lied to you! You're that wretched demon that killed Iruka's parents! Everyone, even Iruka, hates you!"

Naruto was frozen stiff. Kyuubi? Her...? Is _that_ why the villagers all hated her? Kyuubi?

Mizuki reached back and pulled out a fuma shuriken, getting ready to throw it. Iruka, meanwhile, was still trying to get the kunai loose. Finally ready, Mizuki threw the large shuriken while shouting, "No one will love you! No one will accept you!"

Naruto just watched the shuriken get closer and closer. _'Is this the end? Why can't I move? I'm sorry Sakura-chan... I think that I won't be-'_

Suddenly, she felt something push her aside, making them crash to the floor. _'Who...? Iruka-sensei? No, he's still pinned to the cabin...'_

"Dobe, when a weapon comes your way, you're supposed to move." The voice penetrated her thoughts, startling her. Opening her eyes which had closed during the fall, Naruto met a pair of obsidian eyes staring down at her.

"... Uchiha?"

"Hn."

"As sweet as this moment is, I'm afraid I'm going to have to interrupt! Pity too, didn't plan on killing one of the last Uchihas," Mizuki commented with a sardonic smile. Somehow finding _another_ fuma shuriken, he threw it. This time, Iruka had managed to get loose and took the hit.

Unfortunately, because of the rush, he lost his balance and fell on top of two kids who had just begun to get up. This caused two things to happen. Lips met lips and hands met... breasts? Eyes widened as Sasuke squeezed, trying to figure out just what the hell he was touching. Keep in mind, he had yet to move. _'Soft...' _

Pushing both bodies off of her, Naruto yelped and backed away, making gagging motions. "You! You! You pervert!"

The exclamation immediately captured the Uchiha's attention. In that moment, he was finally able to connect the dots. The dobe... was a girl? His eyes narrowed at the accusation, even as a blush made its way to his face. "Excuse me? It's not like I _wanted_ to kiss you, dobe!" He scowled, carefully avoiding the topic of his "accidental" grope.

"Cha right! I always _knew _you were gay! You're name has _uke_ in it, after all! Sakura-chan is too good for you anyway!" Naruto, consumed by her fury, didn't even realize she was groped.

"I'm _not_ gay! And besides, you're a girl so even if I had wanted to kiss you, which I did not, how would that make me gay?"

"What? What do you mean girl? I'm a guy!"

"No you're not! Unless you have man boobs for some reason which I highly doubt since you aren't that fat! I saw your bandages while you were training, dumbass. Since your not injured, they had to be for _something_. Not to mention I could _feel_ them when I fell on top of you!" he blurted out, anger getting the best of him.

"WHAT? Pervert! Just how long have you been watching me anyway? What are you? Some sort of creepy stalker?" Naruto yelled, feeling just slightly violated. Then, her eyes widened drastically as a blush overtook her face. "Wait! You could _feel_ them? Did you grope me, you pervert!"

Mizuki was getting a little annoyed at being ignored ("AHEM! Excuse me! Villain here!"). Iruka... well... he was moaning a bit in pain. That fall had caused that fuma shuriken to dig a little deeper than he'd like.

"That's it! Give me the fucking scroll, you stupid brat!" Mizuki shouted, his patience finally bursting. Both Sasuke and Naruto glared at him.

"Stay out of this!" Both sent a death glare laced with a bit of killing intent, causing Mizuki to sweat... just a bit.

"And who are you calling gay? I'm not the one fawning over someone the same gender," Sasuke taunted.

"Oh, that's right! You're _asexual!_ My bad! But, my, how are you supposed to reproduce your Uchiha spawn now?"

"Hn."

"Hn? That's _such_ a crappy response!"

"At least I'm not a dobe! _I_ would have been able to avoid that fuma shuriken without any help. _I _wouldn't have been consumed by thoughts from a traitor saying that I'm the Kyuubi."

"You shut up! You don't know anything!" Naruto glared. "Who the hell do you think you are? And besides, it's not like you actually gave me a chance, you jerk!"

"Hn."

"Again! You-"

"I WANT THAT FUCKING SCROLL, YOU FUCKING KYUUBI BRAT!" he shouted once more, a vein bursting. Naruto's eye twitched.

"Ne, ero-Uchiha..."

"I'm _not_ a pervert..."

"Shut up. Hold this," Naruto commanded, tossing the scroll in his general direction, keeping her eyes on the traitor.

Sasuke looked at the scroll. "Why should I? I want to fight too," he said, pouting a bit childishly.

"Because I said so! Oi! Mizuki, you shitty traitor! You'd think that if I was the Kyuubi, I'd feel some rotten urge to destroy Konoha! Too bad I haven't! Not even once! For interrupting my conversation with the hentai over there - I was about prove that Sakura-chan deserves so much better, dammit - and for hurting Iruka-sensei (sorry! forgot about you there for a moment!), I'll give a thousand times the normal pain!"

"HA! Just try it! No genin is going to beat me!" Mizuki laughed.

Naruto's eyes narrowed into little slits and a dangerous smile crawled its way onto her face. "Is that so...? KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" A sea of orange could be seen all over the forest. A thousand Narutos occupied whatever space they could.

Iruka, pushing past the pain for a moment, looked around amazed. "... Naruto?"

"Yeah?" a few in the immediate vicinity replied. _'They're real...! Kage Bunshin! Amazing... in that short amount of time, he...!'_

As one, the clones called out, "You were saying, jackass?"

Mizuki gulped. A moment later, the clones all started to pummel the silver haired nin, bring forth screams of pain.

Ten minutes later, Naruto poked at a beat up Mizuki. Looking up at Sasuke, she asked, "You think I was too hard on him?"

Sasuke stared at her. "Hn."

"'Hn'? What the hell does 'Hn' mean anyway? What are you? Some sort of Neanderthal Uchiha pervert?" Sasuke glared.

"Naruto!" Iruka called out, resting at a tree.

"Hmm...?" Naruto replied, looking at the scarred chuunin while still poking at the traitor.

"Come here. I have something to give you."

Curiosity peaked, Naruto wandered her way over, Sasuke following.

"Close you eyes." Doing as she was told, Naruto felt something being put on her head. "You can open them now. Congratulations on graduating, Naruto."

Graduating...? Did that mean...? YES! Naruto felt a wide smile appear on her face! She was a genin! She might be able to keep protecting Sakura!

"Hn."

Her eye twitched for the second time that night. "You just had to ruin it didn't you! You and your stupid 'Hn'!"

* * *

**A/N**: I don't know why... but I had _sooooo _much fun writing this chapter (except for Iruka... he was hard...)! Now... I know, I know... Sasuke probably wouldn't actually say "man boobs" but... well... What else are you supposed to call it? Honestly! As for the ducks... I don't know where they came from but they're there and they're staying there! Let's just say that they're the Hokage tower's internal workers... Mwahahahaha. ha.

But yeah... you got to see some "interactions" between Sasuke and Naruto. And yeah... Naruto probably seems a bit different from the last chapter but I actually planned on making her extremely similar to the original. Just a bit more Sakura obsessed. She also never really considered Mizuki a threat. As for why she was able to get over the whole Kyuubi issue... well... let's just say that she's not really over it. Just pushing it aside. She actually beats Mizuki up because she's feeling anger over the situation and she's still angry at the "test".

I know I changed a few things here and there but eh... it was fun! I really hope you enjoyed it!

Now... there used to be a button. Currently (as of 11/14 /08) there is a link. It says review. press it, write something and post, and I'll be _really_ happy and go "gush gush"! :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Title**:No Matter What

**Series**: Naruto

**Summary**: For her, she'd be willing to do anything... even give up her femininity. She'd be willing to be a guy... no matter what. All for her... Too bad Sasuke won't leave her be.

**Pairings**: SasuFemNaru

**Warnings**: FemNaru, possible (and likely) OOC, mild profanity, not betaed (do not have one...)

**Disclaimer**: Hmmm... does Naruto belong to me...? I don't know... I mean, it's possible because... you know... I'm so rich and I'm writing a _fan _fiction instead of, you know, selling this and making some money off of it?

**AN**: Sooo... it's a new chapter! Before we start... Just let me thank everyone who reviewed/favorited/alerted or whatever! You all are completely awesome! And now... Please enjoy my PLAYGROUND! (ie... No Matter What. :D)

Edited: 6.15.09

Minor Editing: 7.23.10

* * *

**No Matter What**

_Chapter 3_

Sasuke's hand kept twitching. After the ANBU had found the four of them in the clearing, they'd been taken to the Hokage's office. Well... Mizuki was taken to T&I but who cared about him. After a short debriefing with the three of them, the Hokage had declared he wanted to talk to them separately, starting with Iruka-sensei. Naruto was in there right now. And so, Sasuke found himself waiting in the hallway with some ANBU guards... twitching.

Had he been anyone other than _Uchiha_ Sasuke, someone might've said that Sasuke was nervous. But he was _Uchiha_ Sasuke and Uchihas do not get nervous... _ever._ And so, to distract himself from his non-nervousness and his twitching hand, Sasuke's thoughts turned to the dobe.

Ah yes... the ever unpredictable dobe. _Twitch. _While he may have seemed to have accepted the fact that the dobe was female... it was only for that brief moment in time. _Twitch. _The reasons behind why he- no, she!- chose to cross dress escaped him. Why change ones gender? What was the whole reasoning?_ Was _there any reasoning behind it? _Twitch. _Or was it just some harebrained scheme that the dobe-who-seemed-to-be-female came up with one day? And what about Haruno? _Twitch._ Didn't the dobe have a crush on the fangirl? Did that mean the dobe was really gay? Huh... too bad... if she just grew out her hair and looked more femi- wait... where was this going? Erase those last few thoughts! Erase them! They never existed! _Twitch. Cough._

Anyways... The dobe being a girl explained some girly aspects about her character such as the high pitched voice so he supposed it was... okay. And then there was still the fact that he groped her breasts... while kissing her. _Super Twitch! _Accidentally, of course! Kami-sama, he was _still_ slightly mortified by that. While it had not been a _bad_ kiss per say, it was _not_ how he'd imagine ever having his first kiss nor his first grope. Not in front of two people, one of which was a traitor and another their teacher. _Twitch. _Not in the middle of a battle. Not that it had really started or anything. Hn. He was just glad that his fangirls weren't there. _Twitch. Pause. Shudder. _And just how did she manage to hide _those_ things? They didn't seem like something you could hide! _Twitch. Blush._ Hmm... truth be told... He was kind of curious. How big were they _without_ the bandages? They probably weren't Hyuuga's but, judging by his squeeze, they were still- okay... stop... going a bit too far there...

But anyway. The dobe must pay. _Twitch. _He- no, _she_- had taken _his,_ Uchiha Sasuke's first kiss while _cross dressing_. His beautiful purity was ruined... (Though... the dobe would probably dispute that by saying that _she _was the violated one... stupid dobe. What does she know...?) That was unacceptable. But how to- _Twitch!_

_'Dammit! Why wasn't it working? Stupid twitch! Curse you...' _So consumed with his thoughts of cursing the damned twitch was he that he had missed the appearance of a little boy sneaking in and the door opening ten minutes later to reveal our beloved heroine.

"Uchiha... why are you glaring at your hand?" Startled, Sasuke's head shot up. Spotting the blond girl who he'd tried to plot revenge against, he paused. What was he doing again?

She stared at him. "Uchiha... are you okay?"

Sasuke glared. "Hn." It was all her fault... damn dobe. She ruined his perfect thought process. Maybe stupidity _was_ contagious.

It was now Naruto's turn to twitch again... for the third time that night. "I thought I told you to stop with that stupid 'Hn' mess, teme! It's not even a word!" she shouted, pointing at him in anger.

Sasuke smirked. "Hn."

Naruto's fingers started to curl. Mwa. ha. ha. ha. ha. That should teach you not to mess with U-

"FUCK THIS!" And with that exclamation, Naruto leaped at the Uchiha only to sadly be stopped by the ANBU guards. Sasuke watched with impassive eyes that gleamed with a certain sense of satisfaction. And then... he snickered.

Naruto stopped, glared, and then doubled her efforts. A foot kicked the bear ANBU's manly bits - hard. _Wince._ - and a fist ended up knocking the other ANBU's chin. One ANBU down and another damaged. Bringing her head forward and slamming it backwards only moments later, Naruto's head smashed into the mask, almost breaking it. The ANBU dropped the Kyuubi vessel. Sooooo not worth it.

Free, Naruto leaped once more, pushing Sasuke to the ground and straddling him. Holding his arms above his head, Naruto leaned down and glared right into his eyes. "Say 'hn' again and I'll castrate you, Sa-su-ke-_kun!_" She smiled evilly. "Do we have an understanding?"

Suddenly, the door opened revealing a little boy with a green scarf appeared. He froze. "Boss... what are you doing...?"

Turning her head towards the door, Naruto spotted Konohamaru staring at her in horrified fascination. "Kid... I can explain..." she started nervously, finally realizing how this might look like to an outsider. Her legs around the Uchiha, holding his hands above his head, on the floor, her face only centimeters away. Not to mention the kid still thought she was a boy. Oh god... she _seriously_ hoped that the kid hadn't learned about sex yet. That would make this _so _much more embarrassing if he knew about the possibilities of this position. Maybe he would believe her if she told the truth? That she was about to beat the Uchiha-teme up? Maybe...?

Suddenly, understanding dawned on the young boy's face. "Ah!" he said, pounding his fist on his hand. "I know! You're _gay_, aren't you, boss! And that boy's your lover! Don't worry! I don't mind! I think Ebisu-baka is gay too..." He whispered that last bit, making Naruto sweatdrop. Sasuke was just lost. "But... then again... that move you pulled also affected him... hmmm..."

He looked completely serious and a bit thoughtful and that just made Naruto want to whimper. "Gaki... tha-that's not what happened! I was just about to beat the teme up! That's it! I swear." Why... why...!

Konohamaru stared in disbelief. "Right. And that's why you're still straddling him. Don't worry! You don't need to hide it! Besides, I always knew you'd be seme!" This brought their position to the attention of Naruto and Sasuke once more and Naruto quickly got off, blushing. Just where did this kid learn this stuff?

Then the "seme" bit caught up with Sasuke. _'Again... They're calling me uke again.' _He glared. _'I am _so_ not an _uke_! Hn. Uchihas must be semes! Anything else is not acceptable... not that I'm actually _gay_ or anything. Damn dobe. Damn gaki.'_

"Kid... what was your name again?" Naruto sighed.

"Konohamaru, Boss!"

"Konohamaru. I. Am. Not. Gay. And while you're completely right that if I _was_ gay, I'd be the seme, I am not."

"Oh... I don't know about that, dobe. After all, you have a crush on Haruno, don't you? And aren't you-MPH!" Naruto had rushed up to the Uchiha and put her hands up, covering his mouth.

"I thought I told you _never_ to tell anyone, _uke,_" she hissed, eyes glaring. And she had, back in the clearing when Iruka (who didn't know she was a girl due to being distracted by the pain) wasn't paying attention.

"Boss. I'm confused. You tell me you're not gay and then you get unnaturally close to him again. Which is it?" Konohamaru scratched his head.

Jumping back as though her hands had caught on fire, Naruto turned to Konohamaru and sighed. "Why are you calling me 'Boss' anyway?"

Konohamaru's face lit up. "Teach me something! Teach me that Sexy no Jutsu technique that you used to defeat Grandpa and Ebisu-baka!"

Naruto thought for a while. "Okay. You stop saying I'm gay and I'll teach you how to henge tomorrow. You'll have to do the rest."

Konohamaru pouted but acquitted to her demand. "Fine..."

Naruto smiled. Grabbing the boy by his scarf, Naruto headed down the corridor. "Now let's get you to bed. Oh, and Sasuke, go in. The Old Man's been waiting for a while."

Cursing, Sasuke headed into the office. Spotting the passed out jounin and the Sandaime with tissue up his nose, Sasuke couldn't help but wonder just what went on in there while Naruto was talking to the Hokage.

"Hello, Sasuke-kun," the Sandaime greeted as the door shut ominously.

* * *

_Naruto, 20 minutes before..._

"... and that's what happened Jiji," Naruto said, yawning a bit.

The Hokage sighed. "So he knows? About Kyuubi?"

Naruto nodded. "And about my gender. But on the topic of Kyuubi... Jiji... I don't really get it. What am I? The Kyuubi? A monster? A freak? Were all those villagers right about me?"

Sarutobi glared at her. "Of course not! The Yondaime was not a fool. He sealed the Kyuubi into you. You have in no way participated in the destruction of Konoha that night, twelve years ago. You actually did the opposite. It was the Yondaime's last wish that you be hailed a hero." The Sandaime sighed here. "Sadly, the villagers and some of the ninjas did not see it that way, instead choosing to view you as the Kyuubi reincarnate."

Naruto was silent for a while... "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

The old Hokage smiled tiredly. "And just when was I supposed to do that, Naru?"

"I-" Just then, the door burst open, a boy with a long green scarf rushing in. The Hokage felt a sense of dread at the sight of the boy.

"Old Man! Fight me!" Unfortunately, his rather dramatic entrance was ruined by him tripping over his scarf. Looking up and rubbing his head, he shouted, "Alright! Who set up that trap?" Spotting Naruto, he shouted, "It was _you_ wasn't it!"

Naruto stared at the kid, deadpanning... _'Who the hell is this brat...?'_

Almost immediately after this exclamation, a jounin with round sunglasses appeared. Sighting Naruto, he glared. _'The Kyuubi brat...'_

Already angry at the interruption and goaded on by the glares from the jounin, Naruto grabbed the boy up by the scarf and yelled at his face. "What do you mean I tripped you! You tripped over your own damn scarf, dumbass! Who the hell wears a scarf that long anyway?"

Raising her fist to smack the boy, she was halted by a cry of "Hey, Naruto! Drop the boy! He's the Hokage's honored grandson, idiot!"

Glancing between the annoying snot and the Old Man, Naruto couldn't help but be in disbelief. _'This kid and the...' _The Hokage sighed.

Seeing the dubious glances and mistaking them for something else entirely, Konohamaru couldn't help but feel a bit of disappointment. Another one... "That's right! You can't hit me, can you! Go ahead and punch me!" he goaded, glaring.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "YOU THINK I CARE, MORON?" _SMACK!_

Aghast, Ebisu couldn't help but shout out, "Honored Grandson! Naruto! You've gone too far!"

Naruto snorted. Too far? That punch was light. Stupid crybaby... Sakura-chan punches her harder than that! "Shut up! What right do you have to lecture me? You're just a closet pervert! I'll prove it too! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Twenty Narutos appeared in the small office. Ebisu eyes glared. _'So it's true... the Kyuubi brat can do Kage Bunshin...'_

"That may have worked on Mizuki, but you'll find that I'm not as easy to beat," he stated snottily. Sarutobi groaned, knowing that the jounin would later regret that remark. God... why him...

Naruto smirked. "So you say... Harem no Jutsu!" With a giant poof, the Narutos turned into a variety of busty naked women whose decency was covered only by smoke. Should you look closely, you would see no blonds... "Ebisu-sama!" they cried in sexy voices, giggling. Streams of blood flew from both the Hokage's and Ebisu's noses.

_'Harem no Jutsu... a monstrous technique...'_

Staring at the two passed out men, Naruto shook her head. _'Perverts...'_

The Hokage woke up first and told her that the meeting had ended. As she headed towards the door, the Hokage stopped her, saying, "Naru. You know that I'll have to tell your jounin instructor, don't you?"

Smiling her fox-like smile, Naruto chirped out an "Of course!" before opening the door and walking out.

And well... You know what happened from there...

* * *

_Sasuke, present day, Hokage's Office..._

Sasuke stared straight ahead, ignoring the passed out man at his feet and the tissues clogging up the Hokage's nose. He did not want to know.

"Bear-san," the Hokage called.

The bear ANBU Naruto had kicked appeared before the Sandaime with a poof, crouching down on one knee. "Hai, Hokage-sama?"

"Take Ebisu to outside. Should he wake up, tell him he should find Konohamaru with Naruto."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." With a poof, both he and the passed out jounin disappeared, leaving only a pool of blood on the floor as evidence of their previous presence.

Silence reigned for a moment before... "Hokage-sama. What is it you wanted to tell me?"

Sarutobi took off his hat and sighed. His face seemed to age a bit more. "Sasuke. Tell me, what do you think about Naruto and the Kyuubi."

Sasuke thought for a moment, deciding on the best way to answer. "Based on my knowledge of what's going on, I would say that the Kyuubi is sealed inside Naruto but, other than a few influences here and there such as her whisker marks, there is no obvious or apparent connection. The dobe is the dobe and the Kyuubi is the Kyuubi. Hokage-sama," he added as an afterthought.

The Sandaime chuckled at Sasuke's reference to Naruto as "the dobe". Ah... to be young... He turned towards the window for before speaking.

"Naru... has always been hated for being the jailer of the Kyuubi. People fear the Kyuubi and refuse to listen to reason, believing that Naru herself is the Kyuubi reincarnate." His features grew taut with sadness. "I am an old man and I no longer have as much power as I used to. I did what I could for her but I don't believe it was ever enough."

Sasuke was silent. He didn't know where this was going but it might reveal a bit more insight on the girl. He now knew that her name was Naru, not Naruto as he had previously believed, for example...

"One day, Naru was offered friendship by a certain pink haired girl. They played and a connection bloomed. But after that day, they never played again. Naru waited day by day but she never saw her again. Until one day, she heard someone crying in the forest. Checking it out, she saw that same pink haired girl who befriended her. Unable to comfort her because she feared rejection, Naru grew angry at herself and decided to help her in whatever way she could. Somehow, she got the idea to help her by dressing up as a boy and pretending to be in love. Through the connection she felt with the girl, it seems a devotion bloomed."

Sasuke felt his eye twitch just a bit. What a stupid reason to change her gender. She did it for a fangirl? After all, how many pink haired girls were there in Konoha that the dobe "loved"? But... he supposed he understood why. Loneliness is painful. It's something you don't like to feel and he supposed that someone like Naruto _would_ make dumbass decisions like that so that no one else would feel it. Huh. Funny how he was making assumptions based on what he learned in a single night.

"I suppose in a way, Naru saw herself in the girl and now acts as she wishes someone had acted or will act towards her... I originally objected but eventually acquitted to her desires. And why not? It would keep her safer. In this village, where people hated her, she probably would have faced scarier challenges as a girl than a boy. A boy faces physical injuries and the ANBU are there to stop it as much as possible. A girl... Well... People get creative..." He trailed off, resting his hand on the window sadly.

Sasuke's eyes widened, understanding the possibilities that a girl might face, living in a village where everyone hated her. He felt a grudging respect for the girl bloom. To face that possibility should someone find out... But then again... this was the dobe we were talking about... she probably doesn't even realize the dangers. Hn. And just like that, Sasuke's respect for her went back down to its normal level. Zilch.

"Sasuke." The Hokage turned around, looking more tired than Sasuke had ever seen him look before. "I must ask you this. Will you or will you not betray the trust Naruto put in you to keep her secret? Both about her identity and the Kyuubi?"

Without hesitation, Sasuke answered. "Of course not. It's her secret and it's not my place to say anything."

The Hokage smiled, his face lightening a few ages. "Thank you. You may leave now, Sasuke-kun."

"...hai. But Hokage-sama... Not to be rude but could you not have just asked me that question? Why did you go into detail about her past...?"

"Hmmm...? Because I felt like someone else should know. She'll need to be a girl eventually. Her actions will have repercussion that she isn't ready to face. She'll need support."

* * *

_The Next Day..._

"Na-ru-to-nii-san! You promised! Nii-san!"

Naruto groaned. God... that voice was so _annoying!_ "Konohamaru... Shut up and get out of my apartment. How'd you get in here anyway?"

"Ji-san gave the key to me. Something about revenge part 2 for making him pass out twice in one day?"

"Damn him. Well... Put the key on the table and get out. I'll come out in ten minutes."

"Hai!" Kid was _way_ too cheery so early in the morning.

Languidly, Naruto got up, washed up, and dressed. Grabbing Konohamaru by the scarf, Naruto headed towards the academy.

"I need to take my picture for my application. Tag along - we'll grab some ramen after. _Then_ I'll teach you." This brought forth some whining and _much_ smacking. She _really_ was not in the mood to be arguing.

Some time, one picture, and twelve bowls of ramen later, Naruto and Konohamaru found themselves in a clearing near the park. "Okay... So what I'm going to teach you is how to henge, alright?"

"Hai!"

"Now... what do you know about chakra?"

"... erm... catra?" Naruto sweatdropped. This was going to be a long day...

After much trouble and many tries later, Konohamaru finally got the hang of henge enough to satisfy Naruto and they paused for a break. Sipping the drinks Naruto had bought from a nearby vending machine, Naruto decided to ask a question that had been bugging her for a while.

"Ne, Konohamaru. Why do you want to beat the Old Man so much?"

Konohamaru's hands clenched his drink tighter. "Ji-san named me after this village and I really like my name. But everyone calls me 'Honored Grandson' and things like that! I'm tired of it! And so I've decided to become Hokage so that people will acknowledge me!"

_"Ne, Oji-san... If I become like you, will the village stop staring at me so meanlike? I don't like it. I want to become just like you! So that everyone can like me! I'll become Hokage!"_

"Ebisu-baka keeps telling me that he's the shortest way to being a Hokage but it's taking too long! I want people to acknowledge me now!"

Naruto smacked Konohamaru on the head. Hard. "OW! What was that for?"

She glared at him. "'It's taking too long'? 'Shortest way'? What the hell are you talking about, brat? Becoming Hokage isn't something that you can just achieve! It takes effort and time! Hundreds of kids want to become Hokage! And how many of those kids actually become one? Just _one._ So stop talking about this nonsense of finding the shortest way! There is no short way! You have to work for it!"

Konohamaru blinked, holding his head. "Okay okay! I'm sorry! I get it! But... why are you so worked up...?"

Naruto froze. Worked up? Why... why _was_ she so worked up...? _'I thought I'd given up that dream a long time ago... for Sakura-chan...'_

"Boss...? Nii-san?"

_The Sandaime chuckled. "I'm glad you want to become like me, Naru. But it'll take a lot of work, you know..."_

_Naru wrinkled her nose. "It will?"_

_"Yes. It will. You have to care for everyone in the village equally and do all you best to protect them. People will always look up to you and so you have to do the best you can. Not to mention, you have to be strong. It's true that you'll love some people more than others but even still. You have to protect everyone equally. You can't put just one person's safety above billion others. To make the right decision takes strength. But protecting someone will give you immeasurable strength. Protecting a whole village of precious people gives you even more." He smiled down at the village from his vantage point._

_Naru tilted her head to the side. "I don't get it, Oji-san... Why would protecting someone get in the way of protecting the village?"_

_"Well... Think about it this way. You have someone you wish to protect with all your being and place above that of your village. However, your duty is to the village and you do love it - you just love that one person more than anything. Should that one person betray the village and turn into something evil... You'd have to eliminate him. If you place that person above all else... you may not be able to defeat him and that person will represent a constant threat to the village. You'd have failed in your duty to your village."_

_The blond jinchuuriki frowned at him. "But... Couldn't I just make that person good again and bring him back?"_

_"Sometimes... it's beyond your control."_

_She scowled. "I don't get it."  
_

_Smiling sadly, he patted her head. "And I hope you never will. Don't worry. Just keep reaching for your dreams with a whole and loving heart and you'll be fine."_

_"Hai!" she chirped happily._

_"Now, since you're going to be Hokage, would you mind helping me with some paperwork?"_

_Her eyes narrowed as she stared at him. "Are you tricking me...?"_

_He laughed nervously. "Of course not, Naru!"_

_Face brightening, she happily accepted the paperwork and proceeded to "work" on them. He would later regret giving them to her without teaching her what to do.  
_

"Nii-san! Are you there? Ah! Sasuke-san! Help! Nii-san won't answer me! He keeps staring out into space!"

"Dobe...?"

_"Ne... jiji..."_

_"Hmm?" the Hokage replied, filling out the paperwork that would make her male as far as anyone would be aware. It could be repealed at anytime, whenever she wanted._

_"If I'm going to be protecting Sakura-chan so much... do you think I should give up being Hokage...?"_

_His hand stopped. He looked up. "What do you mean?"_

_"Well... If I'm going to be Hokage, then... that'll mean I can't put anyone above the village. But I'm going to be Sakura-chan's protector... won't that mean I can't protect the village to the best of my abilities?"_

_His eyes took on a sad gleam as he stared at the girl. "If that's what you believe is right, then that's what you must do."_

_"... I understand... Thank you."_

_'That's right... the Old Man looked so sad that day... I'd forgotten about that... I wonder if-'_

"Oi! Dobe! Wake up!"

"Huh?" Finally startled out of her memories, Naruto came back to the present to see Sasuke's face centimeters from her own. "AHHH! What the hell! Uchiha! When did you get here? I knew it! You _are_ a stalker, aren't you?"

Sasuke glared. "No. I was _not_ stalking you. I was just passing by to go to the training grounds when this brat started calling me, yelling something about you not waking up. What were you so dazed out about anyway?" he asked, curious.

"Hmm...? Oh, just some old dream I was contemplating maybe taking up again in the future, when I'm out of duty." Sasuke raised his eyebrow. "What? It's true!"

"... Nii-san... are you _sure_ you're not gay and that he's your gay lover? 'Cause-"

BONK!

"I thought you agreed to stop saying that!"

"Yeah! But not for how long! HA! HA!"

Naruto twitched. "YOU BETTER RUN FOR YOU LIFE, YOU LITTLE MAGGOT! NO ONE TRICKS THE GREAT UZUMAKI NARUTO WITHOUT ANY REPERCUSSIONS!"

Watching the two chase each other around the clearing, Sasuke just sighed and shook his head. But damn... did he want to join the dobe in chasing that brat around. How _dare_ he call an _Uchiha_ gay. And _him_ at that! It wasn't even the first time either!

* * *

**A/N**: Sooo we learned a bit more about Naru. Somehow... this chapter started off funny, got serious... and then ended funny again. Meh. You know... I like my Konohamaru... He seems to be obsessed with gay people for a kid though. lol. Hope you liked the chapter!

Oh! and someone asked me a question. So... I've decided! In this bottom portion, I'm answering questions people have about this story in case other people are confused as well...

**Q: Is Naru in love with Sakura?**

**A:** _No... not really. She kinda loves her (in a platonic way) but is not __in love with her. I guess this chapter somewhat explained it better but yeah... At this point, Naruto has this strong obsession with her though that is slowly changing. Sadly, right now... she's Sakura obsessed and it probably won't change _too_ soon... you know? Cause... that'd be _way_ too fast..._

And that's it for now. Ask and you shall receive! Earlier than everyone too! (cause.. you know... I answer the review if you've signed on and _then_ i post on here... cough) so yeah! er... r/r...?


	4. Chapter 4

**Title**:No Matter What

**Series**: Naruto

**Summary**: For her, she'd be willing to do anything... even give up her femininity. She'd be willing to be a guy... no matter what. All for her... Too bad Sasuke won't leave her be.

**Pairings**: SasuFemNaru

**Warnings**: FemNaru, possible (and likely) OOC, mild profanity, not betaed, scene changes...?

**Disclaimer**: _- comes out with sign saying "I own Naruto" and gets mauled by lawyers -_ ... i think that says enough don't you?

**A/N**: OMG! It's the fourth chapter! And _why_ is that important? Because... that means that this fic is _four weeks old!_ And while... that normally would be a month... it's not cause... you know... this month is a five week one... So I guess it's not all that important... meh. Well... actually... the first chapter came out on a _Saturday..._ And I'm posting this Thursday as a "thank you for the support you've shown me this month and Happy Thanksgiving" chapter... So it hasn't even been a week. Damn... Oh well!

**"Inner Sakura"**

_'thoughts' _(If you hadn't already guessed...)

**

* * *

No Matter What**

_Chapter 4_

_Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock..._

So... close... just ten more seconds...

_Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock..._

Six more seconds to go...

_Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock..._

Two more!

_Tick... To-_

**SMASH!**

"MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You evil alarm clock! You will not win today! Today, Uzumaki Na- ACK!"

"NARUTO-NIISAN! Play _ninja _with me!"

With her face buried in the floor and Konohamaru sitting on top of her cross-legged, Naruto gave a resigned (and muffled) sigh. "A kaht wae wih wu dodae, Konoamahrue..."

"... What?"

"A kaht wae wih wu dodae, Konoamahrue..."

"... Naruto-niisan," Konohamaru hissed, sneakily looking around. "I think you have a monster in your house. I keep hearing something!"

A vein throbbed. Naruto pushed herself up suddenly causing Konohamaru to fall off her back and roll into a wall. Legs up in the air, Konohamaru tried to make sense of the two Narutos he kept seeing. Did his nii-san use that kage bunshin move again?

"Konohamaru... I can't play with you today. I actually have something to do..." She stared at him sternly. He had _so_ better not whine... She was off schedule enough as it was, thanks to him...

"But nii-san!"

"Konohamaru..."

Gulping, Konohamaru nodded. "Fine... Where are you going?"

"Hmm...?" Naruto stared up from the toast she was eating. "Er... I'm going to the academy. We're being put in teams today." _'And I had so better be in the same team as Sakura-chan...'_

"Eh...? Can I come too?"

"Can you... Huh... You know... I don't really know..."

"Then it's settled! I'm coming with you!" Konohamaru decreed, slamming a fist on his palm, still upside down.

Naruto stared at him sceptically. "Are you sure you really want to? I mean-"

"Of course I am!" Konohamaru interrupted. "I said I would go and a man _always _follows his words! Right Nii-san!" He stared at Naruto with eyes akin to that of an excited puppy. Naruto sweatdropped.

"Sure...?" How was she supposed to know? She was a girl... not a guy... "But... Konohamaru... you aren't a man. You're a kid."

Konohamaru visibly wilted. "Well... yeah. But.. but... I wanna be a man!" he wailed in distress. Naruto winced. God... this was _not_ what she needed in the morning...

"Konohamaru. Being a man means that you have to follow me to my boring classroom and listen to a bunch of names being called out. Are you sure you wanna do that? You can't make any pranks or screw around." Konohamaru's eyes widened.

"But that sounds so _boring!_" Konohamaru said, aghast. Naruto face vaulted.

"Sure it is. But it's necessary." Pouting, the Sandiame's grandson grumbled that he didn't want to go. A superior smirk made its way onto Naruto's face before falling. "Wait... How'd you get into my house?"

"Eh? I told you already! Ojii-san gave me a key!"

"Didn't I tell you to leave that on the table, you brat?" Naruto growled, before pouncing on the poor boy. With a squeal, Konohamaru ran around the room.

"Don't... Don't you need... to go to... the academy?" he puffed. Freezing, Naruto glanced at the clock before letting out a shriek.

"I'm LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE! Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh _shit!_" Rushing out the door, Naruto grabbed another toast, put on her forehead protector and left Konohamaru in her apartment... all by himself. Grinning evilly, Konohamaru looked around the room.

"Mwahahahahahahaha! What a beautiful pranking playground..."

* * *

_At the academy..._

Huffing and out of breath, Naruto dropped down into a seat, not looking to see who her seating partner was. Putting her head down in her arms, Naruto groaned. Stupid Konohamaru and his stupid distracting ways... Stupi-

"Hn. Dobe. How rude, not even saying hi."

Naruto froze, not even breathing. Slowly, she turned her head around and met onyx eyes. Quickly facing forward, Naruto slammed her head on the table, attracting the attention of many of the surrounding people. Maybe if she just stayed like that for a while, he'd disappear? Ha. Not bloody likely, the stupid bloodsucking, stalking, perverted leech.

"Oi! Naruto! What the hell are you doing here? This room is only for graduates!" an obnoxious voice laughed.

Naruto's eye twitched. "Hey dog breath, can't you see the blue that stands out from the blond? Oh wait, you're _colorblind_, aren't you? My bad. I forgot you were a dog. But, man, do you need a _bath!_ I can smell you even from over here!"

Growling, Kiba stood up, slamming his hands on his desk. "You want a fight, dead last?"

"Bring it!" They glared at each other. Kiba stalked towards her, moving around some desks to do so. Unfortunately, this moved him right in front of the door, just as two people slammed it open.

BAM!

"I win!" both girls cried.

"What are you talking about? I won! My toe's before yours, forehead girl!"

"Liar! You moved it just now, Ino-pig!"

"Who's the one-"

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shrieked, finally spotting the raven haired boy and completely ignoring Naruto who had stood up upon hearing her voice. In an unnatural speed that only fangirls (and fanboys) may possess, Sakura moved up to their desks.

"Sakura-chan! Good mor-"

"Naruto! Move it! I want to sit next to Sasuke-kun!" Sakura demanded.

A bit disappointed but doing as commanded all the same, Naruto got up only to be stopped. Staring down at her wrist, Naruto followed the hand, up the arm, to the blue sleeves and finally, to the Uchiha's face. What. the. fuck.

"S-sasuke-kun?" Sakura stuttered, surprised. Why was he keeping Naruto from moving? Was he... was he actually choosing the dobe over _her?_ Beautiful _her?_

"Stay," Sasuke commanded, staring out the window.

Naruto sputtered while Sakura's (and all the other fangirls') eyes popped out. "Who the hell are you to tell me what to do, teme!"

"Naruto!" Ino shouted, protesting against his name calling. This was _Uchiha_ _Sasuke!_ You can _not_ just call him something like bastard, for he was a god and gods are _not_ bastards!

Sasuke turned to Naruto and glared. "Stay."

Naruto pouted. "But Sakura-chan wants to sit here!"

Sakura glanced uneasily between the two boys. She really did want to sit there, but... if Sasuke... "It's fine Naruto. Just listen to him." She sat down at the end of the table, somewhat depressed. When did they get so close? And why did Sasuke-kun seem to prefer Naruto over her...? Was she not pretty enough?

Somewhat awkwardly, Naruto sat down and stared at Sakura. "Ne, Sakura-chan! Cheer up! Don't worry! You can have a date with me!"

Recovering quickly, Sakura snorted. "As if!" Hmph. It must not be her. I mean, _Naruto_ kept asking her out on dates for a reason, right? It must mean she's extra beautiful. I mean, for him to constantly ask her out for so long, despite her constant rejections, she must be something, no? But then... it must be something else...

Naruto smiled secretly... Hee hee... her plan worked. Success!

Sakura turned towards their direction in hopes of seducing Sasuke into a date somehow. However... she noticed Sasuke's hand was still clutching Naruto's wrist. And then... It came to her like lightning. Sasuke must be... _gay_! It's the only reason that would explain him not falling for her seductive charms! OH NO! That must mean her dreams of being Mrs. Uchiha have nil chances of happening! That is unacceptable. It's decided then. A determined glint came into her eyes. She would... turn Sasuke straight! **"Hell yeah!"**

For some reason... Sasuke felt a shiver go up his spine, as if something _extremely_ horrid would happen _very_ soon...

Iruka-sensei walked in through the doors and called everyone to settle down. Pondering the shiver as people became quiet, Sasuke unconsciously gripped Naruto's wrist tighter. Meanwhile, Kiba was still knocked out and hidden behind the door. That door had slammed open _hard._

* * *

As all this occurred, jounin instructors had gathered in the Hokage's office and were observing the class through that mysterious crystal ball. When witnessing the Uchiha stop the Kyuubi vessel from leaving, many eyebrows rose. Some wondered when the Kyuubi vessel and the last Uchiha had gotten close. Others... were reading porn. The Hokage just smiled in amusement.

"As you can see, we have a variety of different possible genins with great potentials in different areas. Should you pass them," he gazed at all of them evenly, "I expect you all to nurture these potentials. Do you understand?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama," they chorused.

"Good. Kakashi. Stay here. I want to talk with you separately. The rest of you are dismissed."

With poofs, the jounin disappeared, leaving the silver haired cyclops with the Sandaime. "Hai, Hokage-sama...?"

"Hmmm... Come with me. There's something I need to show you. It's best that I tell you about this now as opposed to later."

* * *

_Academy..._

"Beginning today, you are all genin. But you are only rookie genin. The hard part is just starting. Now you will soon be assigned duties to the village. So today, we'll be creating three-man teams and each team will be given a jounin sensei. I expect all of you to follow your sensei's instructions concerning missions. Now... team 1..."

_'... Teams...? They better not hold me back...'_

_'Come on, come on! I gotta be with Sakura-chan! I just gotta! How am I going to protect her otherwise? But I hope the Uchiha isn't going to be on my team... damn pervert...'_

_'Sasuke-kun... come on... Sasuke-kun... This is essential in my plan to turn you straight!' _

"... next, team 7. Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke..."

"Yatta!" Sakura cried. **"Hell yeah!"**

Naruto wanted to whimper... She was, of course, going to be on Sakura's team... but did it _have _to be with the teme?

"And Hyuuga Hinata."

Naruto's eyes widened. "_WHAT?_ Sensei, are you sure you read that right?"

Iruka looked up. "Huh? What are you talking about? Of course I... oh wait... my bad, it's supposed to be Naruto, not Hinata. Sorry for the mistake," he apologized sheepishly.

Naruto fell down in her seat in relief... good... she could protect Sakura now... good... "God, sensei... don't scare me like that," she mumbled to herself. Sasuke snorted causing Naruto to glare at him which then caused Sakura to punch her for her "disrespect".

And Iruka continued, "Team eight..."

When the meeting ended, newly formed teams took this chance to bond... Well... _some_ of them at least. Sadly, team seven was not one of those teams. Yes, Sakura had _tried_ to get Sasuke to eat lunch with her and Naruto had _tried_ to get Sakura to eat lunch with _her_ and Sasuke had _yet_ to let go of Naruto's hand but... they all refused one another. Sasuke coldly turned Sakura down, Sakura punched Naruto a refusal and Naruto bit Sasuke to make him let go.

As Sakura wandered around the school, looking for a place to eat, she couldn't help but be depressed. Her plan to turn Sasuke straight had failed on the first try! Her delicious lunch invitation (there was onigiri, dammit! She _knew _he like onigiri and made it especially for him despite her hatred of it!) was coldly turned down! And that _hand!_ She couldn't understand! How could he push her aside for _Naruto_ of all people? _Naruto _**(Damn him!)** was a dobe and ugly! Why _him_? Maybe if it was someone like that Neji person she'd seen in passing before! At least someone with manners! Even Ino-pig would be better! But Naruto...? Brooding in the corner she chose to eat, Sakura attracted much attention - none of it good.

"Mommy! Mommy! Why's that lady look so scary...?"

"Shhhh... Taki, ignore the scary lady okay? Those are the sort of people you want to avoid! And if you ever bring a girl like that home, I'll make sure you're not able to sit for weeks!"

"... Why would I bring a girl home, mommy? They're yucky!"

"When you're older, Taki. When you're..."

"Pssst! What's up with that creepy girl?"

"I don't know! Hmmm... I know! I dare you to poke her!"

"NO! Do you see how friggin scary she looks! She looks like she'd murder you!"

"That's the whole point..."

Sakura felt a vein pop. She could _hear _them, you know. And who the hell is scary! Hmm.. but she was getting off topic. How to turn Sasuke straight? Onigiri failed. What should she do? Maybe she could seduce Naruto away from Sasuke? Pffft! Hell no! That was too disgusting. Her? Seducing the dead last? Cha right! Now _Sasuke_ she wouldn't mind seducing _at all_ but Naruto...? Ew...

But... what other option was there...? AGH! What was there? What? She must... she must... gather information...? Sakura felt herself sweatdrop. Why hadn't she thought of that before? Grinning, Sakura set off to work. Who would do...? Hmm... Ah ha! He liked Naruto so...

* * *

On top of the Fourth's head, Naruto could be seen relaxing and enjoying the breeze. Calmly sipping at the cup ramen she'd made a while ago, Naruto closed her eyes and sighed. If only it could always be this peaceful... NAH! As nice as it was, if it happened all the time, no one would enjoy it! Besides... She was someone who _lived_ for excitement. Mwa ha ha ha ha!

Hearing a loud crunch behind her, Naruto quickly turned around and saw Sakura. Her beloved Sakura! She must have changed her mind and decided to eat lunch with her! Good! Now she could make sure no one would hurt her! Face bright with happiness, Naruto burst out a cheery, "SAKURA-CHAN! ARE YOU HERE TO EAT LUNCH WITH ME?"

Sakura's eye twitched just a bit but Naruto missed it, so intent on enjoying this happiness. "Er... no... not really."

Naruto drooped down in gloom and dark lines of sadness seemed to hang over her. Sakura stared at the sight with a sweatdrop. God, and Sasuke-kun liked _this_ moron?

"But... er... ano... I was wondering..."

Naruto perked up. A chance to help? "You were wondering...?"

"Erm..." Sakura blushed a bit. Kami-sama, this seemed so stupid now that she thought about it... "What do you know about Sasuke?"

Naruto's face darkened and her voice became rough. "He's an evil perverted spawn who kisses... Wait a minute! He stole my first kiss! Friggin Teme! I'll KILL HIM! I'll _KEEL_ the stupid Ero-uke!" She stood up in a rage, hands grabbing a kunai. "I'll kill him!"

Sakura slapped her forehead. That plan failed miserably. Well, at least Sasuke's sexuality was confirmed. But kiss...? They've kissed? And uke...? _Uke...?_ Sakura had never thought that the Uchiha would be an _uke_. But never mind that. It was time for Plan B. Sneaking behind the raging genin, Sakura took out her gas mask. Putting it on and slamming down a knockout bomb, Sakura counted to ten. When the smoke cleared Naruto was on the floor unconscious.

Grinning evilly, Sakura performed a jutsu and was promptly covered by a cloud of smoke.

* * *

_Sasuke's apartment..._

Eating an onigiri (that he _knew_ was not poisoned with some strange love potion), Sasuke sat on the rooftop plotting revenge on Itachi. First, he'd gloat. Then they'd fight - with him coming out on top of course. Then he'd rub his victory in his face and castra - who the hell was knocking on his door...? He was in the middle of planning his vengeance! His vengeance dammit!

Ripping the door open, Sasuke turned on his best glare only to meet the strange site of a smiling Naruto holding a bento of onigiri. Sasuke stared. And stared some more. And then closed the door on his - wait... her... right. her - face. Sitting by the window as though nothing happened, Sasuke continued to eat his onigiri.

"Hey! Sasuke-kun! Why'd you close the door on me? Come on! Open up! Open up!" BANG BANG BANG! "O-PEN UP!" BANG! "I brought you onigiri!"

Sasuke's eye twitched. Ripping the door open once more, Sasuke glared. "What the _hell_ do you want?"

Naruto smiled. "Onigiri...?" she offered.

"You _bit. _My. Arm..."

"It's... an apology...?"

A bit suspicious but deciding to let her in anyway, Sasuke opened the door some more. Settling down once more, he began to eat his onigiri, keeping one eye on the orange clad figure.

"Ne... Sasuke-kun..."

Kun...? When had she started calling him "kun"? He thought it'd always be "teme" or "uke" (damn her! He's starting to accept the name!) or even just "Uchiha"... but "_Sasuke-kun_"? It reminded him too much of his fangirls...

"Hn." He smirked, waiting for the outburst... but it never came.

"What do you think of Sakura...? I mean, you know, cause she's our teammate and all!"

Sasuke stared at her. Something was _very_ wrong. He was sure of it now... First the "kun" then no outburst and now questions about Haruno? Not only that but forgetting the "chan" as well...?

"I'm not obsessed like you are," he said, his eyes narrowing slightly. "She's annoying."

Naruto (if that's who she really was) wilted a bit. "Then... what do you think about me...?"

Sasuke stared... What the hell...? If it was anyone but the dobe, he'd think it was someone henged. But who the hell would henge into the dobe of all people? And to ask questions about what he thought about people...? Deciding that the dobe was sick (she was acting too weird) and not wanting to be blamed for anything, Sasuke walked up to Naruto and raised his hand. When he touched the dobe's forehead, the dobe's face got extremely red and she fainted!

Crouching down and staring, Sasuke was only slightly shocked to see a poof and a certain pinkhaired fangirl. He glared down at the figure. Someone was actually stupid enough to henge into the dobe...? And he was _teammates_ with them...? Not to mention that she was a horrid actor...

Suddenly the door slammed open and a red faced Naruto (the real one this time) appeared. "TEME! HOW DARE YOU STEAL MY FIRST KISS! ... And what did you do to Sakura-chan?" She glared accusingly.

* * *

_On a certain rooftop..._

"AGH! I can't believe that _you_ two are my teammates! I have someone who's too lazy to get off his bum and _do_ something other than cloud watching and another who just _won't stop eating!_ Why me!"

Shikamaru stared at the aggravated blond. She was the one suffering? _They_ were the ones who would have to listen to her rant and boss them around all the time... It's not like they _wanted_ to be on her team.

"And that forehead girl is on the same team as _Sasuke-kun!_ ARGH! But at least I get to see Sasuke-kun eating from up here!" she chirped, changing moods quickly and pulling a pair of binoculars out of no where. Such was the power of a fangirl.

"Eh...? Wait! What's Naruto doing there...? Hmm... Sasuke-kun also wouldn't allow Naruto to move to another seat this morning... Hmm... wait... huh? Why did Naruto-"

"TEME! HOW DARE YOU STEAL MY FIRST KISS!"

Team 10 blinked. First... Kiss...? Why did that sound like Naruto? Someone _actually_ wanted to kiss Naruto...? And it was Sasuke...?

"YOU STOLE _MY_ FIRST KISS!"

"NO! YOU STOLE _MINE_! YOU WERE THE ONE ON TOP OF ME!"

"NOOOOOOOOO! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT! HOW COULD MY BEAUTIFUL SASUKE-KUN BE _GAY!_" Ino wailed in disbelief.

Shikamaru and Chouji stared at the fangirl who went back to watching and sweatdropped. They'd have to deal with this the whole time as genin...?

Suddenly, Ino fell back in what seemed to be shock with froth coming out of her mouth. While the vast majority of her was weeping out in misery and declaring Naruto her number one rival for Sasuke (Sakura got bumped down to two with this development), a small portion of her was thinking, _'DAMN! Sasuke and Naruto as a couple is HOT!'_

And thus, that is how the first secret "SasuNaru" fangirl was born.

* * *

_Sasuke's apartment..._

"I didn't do anything. She passed out, dobe. And what the hell do you mean I stole your first kiss...? YOU STOLE MY FIRST KISS!" Sasuke shouted, a bit aggravated.

Naruto turned a furious red. "Me...? Me...? NO! YOU STOLE _MINE_! YOU WERE THE ONE ON TOP OF ME!"

Sasuke glared. "It was because I was saving your sorry ass that I was even on top of you!"

"Oh that's right! You're the _uke_ so you'd be on the bottom, wouldn't you!"

"What is _up_ with you people and calling me _uke?_ First of all, I'm not _gay!_ And second! Uchiha's are not ukes!"

Naruto sniffed. "Hmph. Fine then! Prove it!"

Having had enough of the accusations, Sasuke grabbed Naru by her jacket and pulled her close to his face. "As you wish," he gritted out before kissing her. Naruto froze. Then Sasuke ruined his chance to run by saying, "Does that prove it now?" Pity... he could have run before her anger got the best of her.

POW!

And to think... through most of this, Sakura was knocked out on the Uchiha's apartment floor.

* * *

_Academy, after break..._

Today was not a good day for Kakashi to be late. No, not a good day at all. Well... at least not when meeting his team. Naruto was angry enough already without having to wait for a late jounin instructor. So when everyone in their year but her team left, she did the only thing she could to relieve that anger. She pranked. Sakura would have probably stopped her but sadly, Sakura was still out. Apparently, her fangirlness overloaded and her brain melted a bit. As for Sasuke... well, he didn't care...

So, with no one to stop her, Naruto set up an elaborate prank for their late instructor. Somehow managing to find a large fish, some wet cement, paint, hair dye and a disgustingly smelly and sticky substance, Naruto laid everything out and waited, kunai in hand. Three hours later, Sakura woke up and their teacher stuck his head in. Without even bothering to look, Naruto threw her kunai, hitting a hidden string which set off a chain of reactions that ended up with a smelly green haired jounin covered in splotches of paint and a fish in his shirt (it would've gone in his mouth had it not been for that mask). Not to mention that an arm was covered in cement.

Sasuke smirked in satisfaction, though... that just made him look funny with the new addition to his face. Sakura (she had woken up some time after Naruto finished setting it up) stared, aghast, while her inner self died in laughter. Naruto glared challengingly, smiling victoriously. Ha. You chose a wrong day to be late, cyclops.

Kakashi stared at them and smiled, hiding a dangerous glint in his eyes. It wouldn't do to scare them so early would it? "My first impression of you three... is that I hate you. Please die. If you don't, meet me up on the roof." With a poof, he disappeared.

The three genin stared at the spot where he was last seen. What a weirdo.

Getting up, the three walked towards the stairs that led to the rooftop where their instructor was waiting for them. When they finally reached the top, the silver haired jounin once again had silver hair and was paint-free, cement-free, fish-free and almost stink free. Naruto couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. It was a good prank too.

"You're late," he announced, snapping an infamous orange novel shut. Naruto recognized it as the ones the old man hid in his desks with a lock and key. The three academy graduates' eyes narrowed.

"A bit ironic for you to say that isn't?" Naruto growled. "Not to mention that you never set a time limit."

Kakashi smiled with his eyes. "Hmmm... well I guess so. Now that that's cleared up, let's introduce ourselves."

"Introduce...?" Sakura inquired. "What do you want us to say...?"

"Ehhh... likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, hobbies and things like that..."

"Hey hey! Why don't you introduce yourself first!" Naruto complained.

"Eh...? Me? Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future...? Hmm... Well, I have lots of hobbies..."

The three facedropped. So basically... all they learned was his name... Kakashi smirked. "Now you! Orange-kill-me!"

Naruto grumbled. Why does everyone complain about the orange? Orange was a great color! "Well, my name's Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen, Sakura-chan and other such stuff! I don't like the three minutes it takes for ramen to cook and... well... I guess I don't like to see my precious people helpless. Oh! And I _hate_ kiss-stealing perverts like a certain _someone..._" Here she glared at Sasuke. "My dreams for the future are... to protect a certain person! Hobbies...? Er... I guess pranking...?"

Kakashi stared at the jinchuuriki. _'Huh. He- wait... it's suppose to be she- has grown in an interesting way.' _"Okay. Good job. Now you, Panda eye!"

Naruto snickered at the name. Served the bastard right! Kissing her! He stole her _second_ kiss as well as her first! To prove he's not gay! Friggin TEME! Not to mention _that_ night... He so totally deserved that black eye!

Sasuke growled. He was _so_ going to make the dobe pay! "My name is Uchiha Sasuke," he gritted out between clenched teeth. "There are a ton of things I dislike but I don't really like anything. And... I don't want to use the word 'dream'. I have an ambition... The resurrection of my clan and... to kill a certain man. My hobbies are my own."

This brought for many different reactions. Kakashi stared at him. _'I thought so...'_

Sakura fangasmed. Naruto... blanched. He actually wants to kill someone? Incapacitate, humiliate, hurt, ect. sure! But _kill_? She couldn't help but think it seemed to... final.

"Right... well.. you next, Pinky."

"I'm Haruno Sakura. The thing I like is... Well... the person I like is..." she took a few glances at Sasuke. "Oh should I say my dream...? Oh my!" she giggled. Sasuke's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Suddenly, her face turned murderous. "The thing I hate is Naruto."

Naruto visibly wilted and Kakashi winced. _'Harsh. After all she's done and no appreciation. Not only that but she's called a 'thing'."_

"My hobby is..." she giggled once more, sneaking some very obvious peaks at the Uchiha.

Kakashi sweatdropped. _'I guess most girls this age are more interested in love than ninjutsu...' _"Okay! That's enough. We'll start our duties tomorrow!"

Naruto perked up. "YAY! What kind of duties! What kind?" she pestered. Kakashi chuckled.

"Oh.. we'll be doing something with only the four of us at first..." Naruto tilted her head, curiosity doubled. "We'll be doing survival training!"

"... Survival training...?"

"..."

"Why survival training...? We did enough at the academy."

Kakashi smiled. "I'm your opponent but this isn't your normal training."

"Then... then! What kind of training is it then...! What is it?" Naruto hopped up and down a little, excited.

Kakashi leaned forward and chuckled evilly... "Ne... Sensei... Why are you laughing...?" Sakura asked, the hair on the back of her neck sticking up slightly.

Kakashi straighten up. "First of all, that was a chuckle. An _evil_ chuckle. And second... I was _chuckling_ because... well... It's just that when you hear this... You'll flip."

"Haaa? Flip?"

Kakashi's eye turned grim. "Out of 27 graduates, only 9 will be chosen to become genin. The rest are sent back to the academy. This training is super difficult with over a 66 percent failure rate."

The three academy graduates who might possibly go back... flipped. Well... more like only Naruto while Sakura and Sasuke had their internal flipping. Not that they could really fool the jounin... Kakashi smiled cheerfully. "I told you you'd flip."

"BUT WHAT WAS ALL THAT GRADUATING CRAP ABOUT? I WORKED HARD TO GRADUATE!" Naruto protested, outraged.

"Hm? Oh that? It was just to weed out those who were _really_ unfit - as in, they would probably trip over their own kunai unfit. Anyway... tomorrow you'll be graded on the training field. Bring all your training tools. You'll need them. Oh, and don't eat breakfast tomorrow. You'll throw up."

"THROW UP? IT'S THAT DIFFICULT?"

"Hmmm," he hummed noncommittally. "Here are the details. Meet me tomorrow and don't be late."

Looking at the paper he handed out, Naruto wanted to whimper... _'Too much kanji...'_

Meanwhile, Sakura processed the information and grinned. _'Me? Sasuke-kun? Alone in a forest? Well... the dead last and Kakashi-sensei will be there but they don't count... It'll be the perfect time to seduce Sasuke-kun into the land of straighthood!' _**"HELL YEAH!"**

Sasuke promptly felt a sense of dread wash over him once more. But at what, he didn't know.

_

* * *

_**A/N:** You know... this was supposed to include the whole bell test and everything... but then I decided that it was going to be too long... It'd up the standard for me to write. Laziness defines me. :P

As you can see... the last part is a lot like the manga... I didn't feel the need to change it too much soooo yeah... Erm... hope you enjoyed it...? I'm also afraid I'll have to inform you that the next chapter will most likely be a lot like the manga too... because... changing it is so much _work!_ Oh! And Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you eat lots and get fat! Now for the whole questions bit...

**Q: Why Sasuke? WHY HIM?  
**

**A: **_Hmmm... Why him? Well... I suppose its because he was convenient... I mean... the Naruto series really focuses a lot on him and Naruto, you know...? So yeah.. Plus! He's _really_ fun to screw around with. MWAHAHAHAHA!_

I've gotta say... I don't think I really needed to answer that (since this _is_ in the SasuNaru category, says SasufemNaru in the summary and all that...) But I like the person who asked me and quite frankly... I thought it to be a funny question. No offense but ermm... (cough)... yeah... It was also in case anyone else wanted to know...

And yes... I did cause them to kiss again... why...? I honestly have no idea... and that whole thing about Ino... Snickers... Well... I couldn't help it! lol. But you know... I keep making people think Sasuke is gay... I almost feel bad... almost... well... not really...

Oh! And ddd! I just want to say... (since your anonymous and I can't answer your reviews...) Thanks for the smiley face you posted every chapter! :D They make me laugh and smile!

Well hope you enjoyed the show. In case anyone is curious about the status of the next chapter... You can go to my profile. I usually update a lot and post the status of the next chapter there. Occasionally I'll be giving bits of info about what's in it. R/R please! I'd appreciate some feedback!


	5. Chapter 5

**Title**:No Matter What

**Series**: Naruto

**Summary**: For her, she'd be willing to do anything... even give up her femininity. She'd be willing to be a guy... no matter what. All for her... Too bad Sasuke won't leave her be.

**Pairings**: SasuFemNaru

**Warnings**: FemNaru, _OOC-ness abounds_... (I'm so friggin serious), mild profanity, not betaed (do not have one...)

**Disclaimer**: Ah... I own Naruto? Really? Yeah, that must be it! That's why you see all the words instead of pictures and it says "disclaimer" right before this... yep! I just _must_ own Naruto...

**AN**: Hey all! New chapter! It went under major revisions at the last second so I'm not sure if I made any typos. If there are, please be polite and politely point them out for me. I'll get them fixed. Also! I'd like to inform you that I've edited the prologue so that it's smoother and it makes it easier to understand why Naruto is so depressingly obsessed with Sakura! That also means that I've improved Naruto's reason for being Sakura's protector and Sandaime's little "speech" to Sasuke... so yeah... check it out if you want! Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate it!

Fixed a couple of typos here and there: 6.16.09

Minor Editing II: 8.3.10

* * *

**No Matter What**

_Chapter 5_

Humming slightly, Naruto stepped out of the shower. Towel over her head, Naruto grabbed the bandages she had set out and did the usual tedious (though necessary) and painful task of binding her breasts. Despite their moderate size, they were more of a nuisance than helpful. Not only was it physically painful to bind them so others wouldn't be able to tell she was a girl but they were also just plain annoying. How she hated the monsters... She failed to see any use in them. Just what were they _for_ anyways?

Putting on her underwear, Naruto dried her hair quickly. Catching sight of her reflection in the mirror, Naruto blinked. Then, horror became etched onto her face. She rushed towards her closet with a speed only acquired in times of terror. _'Not the clothes. Not the clothes. Not the clothes. Please not the clothes!'_ Slamming, the closet door open, Naruto stared, aghast, at the sight that lay in there. _'No. No. NO. NONONONONONO!'_

"KONOHAMARU! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, YOU'RE DEAD! _DEAD!_ YOU HEAR ME? NO ONE MESSES WITH THE ORANGE AND DOESN'T PAY!"

At the park, a little henged boy felt a foreboding shiver go up his spine. Twisting this way and that, he searched for the origin. Sensing nothing, he continued on, avoiding the frantic jounin searching for him just meters away.

Naruto stared pitifully at the mirror. Though she _had_ managed to get rid of most of the purple hair through multiple attempts at washing it out, some of the color had persistently stuck to her roots. And not only that, but, despite her attempts, Naruto could _not_ find _any_ orange clothing. Her black shirts had somehow been turned blue with a _red and white fan_ on it and her beautiful orange jacket was now a mix of blue, red and white... Not only that, but the orange clothing she wore yesterday was in the wash so she was unable to wear even _those!_ Donning the only clean clothes she had left, Naruto couldn't help but think that she looked like a blond, blue-eyed Uchiha... with purple roots... Oh yeah... she'd _kill_ the little brat. How dare he prank _her._ Glaring at the reflections that just _would not change_, Naruto sighed and walked out the door, having made herself an hour late from the intended meeting time due to her attempts at returning to normal. God, she could already feel it... It was going to be a _baaaaaad_ day today...

* * *

Staring down in fascinated horror, Sasuke couldn't keep the shudder from going through his body. Had he not done a quick Kawarimi, it would've been _him_ down there being _tortured_ (because, really, there was no other word for it) by the... _thing_... that was hugging the log. God, the horrors of what could've occurred.

Normally, he would not have called the _thing_ a "thing" but... today was not normal. No... it was a day of terror... mind scarring terror of which you could never forget... No, he could no longer call the _thing _anything other than "the _thing_"... Calling that blinding mind scarring horror of an abomination his _teammate_ or even his _fangirl_ of all things was something that not even he could do. _Nothing_ deserved to be lowered to... _that_.

Now just what was so horrid you ask? Well... the _thing_ just happened to be Haruno Sakura, our heroine's crush and Sasuke fangirl of team 7. It seems that in her desire to turn Sasuke straight, she decided that seducing her crush in the forest would be the best option. And so, with that decision made, Sakura was dressed in a shockingly neon pink shirt similar to her old one but _much _shorter so that it was eerily reminiscent to a certain root member who has yet to appear and extremely short shorts. Her hitai-ate was wrapped around her neck and tied in a bow to make it look as if she was a present and pink stilettos adorned her feet. No kunai holster could be seen. She'd even gone so far as to stuff a water bra making her breasts look unnaturally large. It was quite a strange site since it was unproportional to her body... All in all, she made a strange picture and one that was definitely not prepared to take a genin test... Not to mention she was hugging a log into a flat board, thinking it was her precious "Sasuke-kun"... It was really quite a wonder as to how she was able to get out of the house. She squeezed a little tighter.

CRACK!

Sasuke paled as he heard the sound, clutching the branch tighter. If that had been him... his grip turned to his arm. At least he knew she was strong if she wanted to be... but still! If that had been him...

"... And that's how... EH? What was that crack? Sasu- huh? Where's Sasuke-kun? Sasuke-kun?" She looked side to side. "Sasuke-kun?"

_'Don't look up. Don't look up. Don't look up,'_ Sasuke prayed. _'Shit! Don't look up.'_

Sakura didn't look up. "I could have sworn..." She sighed. "Oh well, I guess I'll just wait for him here."

Sasuke sighed in relief and leaned back, disturbing a certain squirrel hole...

* * *

Now, Riku the squirrel considered himself a very handsome, good looking, sensitive squirrel. He was certain he would be able to get any squirrel lady he wanted and therefore should get the best... which just happened to be Kairi the lady squirrel. She was beautiful with a scarlet red streak instead of the usually dark brown. Of course, _he_ had the silver streak making him that much cooler. But we're getting off topic.

Riku decided, hey, Kairi's a girl and he, Riku, wished to get laid! So... He decided to show Kairi his wonderful squirrel hole and his wonderful acorn stock and then... bada bing bada boom! Instant lay. Simple no?

However, as we all know, things don't always go as one hopes for. Such was the case for his plans. Problem number one? The dark haired human. Now, Riku didn't particularly hate humans. He didn't like them, no, he did not like them at all. But he tolerated them because once they learned to walk up trees like he and other wonderful squirrels did, they happened to strengthen trees. He wasn't exactly sure how it happened but hey, he wasn't complaining. So yes, he tolerated them. However, this particular human did not walk up trees... and that gave him a bad mark in his book already.

Problem number two? Kairi was not interested in his collection or his home. Instead, she was staring at that blasted _human._

Problem number three? He wasn't getting laid... and it was all that humans fault.

Problem number four? Kairi was _still_ paying attention to the human, particularly his butt, and not on _him,_ the awesome Riku. What did that two leg have that he didn't? Hmph.

Problem number five? There was none.

However, Riku was a bit tiffed that the human was taking all his attention and keeping him from getting laid _while_ not even _helping_ his home! So it was really no wonder that when the raven haired boy leaned back, blocking the light, Riku narrowed his eyes and glanced between the human and Kairi. With a flying leap, he rammed into the human's butt and sunk in his teeth. The rewarding yelp and jump was music to his ears. He sunk his teeth in harder. _Sooooo_ worth the disgusting taste.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. The human grabbed Riku tightly thus making him let go of the disgusting butt. Riku glared.

The boy glared back after lifting an eyebrow.

Slowly, Riku's eyes began to water. Turn away you blasted human! Look away! I refuse to give in to you!

The human looked away, scoffing. Riku smirked. Ha! He won!

Now, Kairi, dear old Kairi, got angry at Riku for sinking his undeserving teeth into her human sla- I mean... _eye candy- _thus obstructing her view. Deciding this was unacceptable, Kairi climbed into her _eye candy_'s pants. The closer the view the better, no?

Unfortunately this caused the human to fall off the branch and the world tilted. All of a sudden, Riku felt the breathe knocked out of him and all he saw was pink. His eyes bulged. _'Can't... breathe...! My... Eyes!'_

"TEME! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO SAKURA-CHAN!"

The heavy weight was lifted off Riku and he could breathe. He took this chance to escape.

That was it. He gave up on women. Maybe it was time he and Sora got reacquainted? It _has_ been a while... at least _he_ listened, even if he was friends with that annoying duck and that weird turtle who looked like a dog. Hmmm... if all went well, he might even share his special star acorns... Yes... that sounded much better...

* * *

Now when Sasuke leaned back, the last thing he expected was to be bitten... by a rodent of all things. So it was really no surprise that he had yelped (quietly) and jumped... even _if_ he was an Uchiha. It was actually a great achievement that he didn't fall _off_ the tree or cause the leaves to fall thus alerting Sakura to his presence.

When he saw just _what_ had bitten him, he lifted an eyebrow. What a weird squirrel. It had _silver_ hair... and was it just him or was it _glaring_ at him? Well, two can played that game. He glared back.

However, when he realized what he was doing, he turned away scoffing and - was that squirrel _smirking?_ Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

Before he could do anything however, Sasuke felt something go down his pants. Oh shit. Shitshitshitshitshitshit! It was no surprise, really, that he squirmed off the branch he was currently sitting on. And so, he fell squirrel in his grasp... that wasn't the bad part. Oooooh no. What was horrid was that he fell into _the thing's_ breasts... It was squishy and much larger than he remembered. Not that he had ever felt them before... Heavens no... He would have been crying to go to hell if that had happened. _'Fuck.'_

How did Sakura feel about this one might wonder? She was in heaven. Her crush fell out of the sky and put his face into her _breasts!_ It was perfect! Surely he'd turn straight then and there! And then! And then! Then he'd fall in love with her and her stuffed breasts and they'd live happily ever after! It was perfect! **"HELL YEAH!"**

Unfortuately for her, her happiness was short lived. The raven haired boy was yanked off her by the collar of his shirt. Onyx eyes met narrowed blue. He gulped. _'Double fuck.'_

"TEME! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO SAKURA-CHAN?" Naruto growled. If that damn pervert did _anything_ to her Sakura-chan... It would _not_ be pretty.

Sakura's vein throbbed. "Naruto! Let go of Sasuke-kun! Get off him!" She glared when Naruto didn't let go.

"I repeat. What the hell did you do to Sakura-chan."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Nothing. I fell. She was there. You came. Nothing else." His tone carried a hint of disgust at the idea that something might happen between the two and Sakura watched, feeling crushed.

Naruto's grip tightened. "Are you saying she's not good enough for you?" She growled menacingly, raising her fist. However, before she could even throw the punch, they were interrupted by a loud gasp. They turned towards Sakura who was currently pointing at Naruto.

Naruto tilted her head. Sakura-chan? "You... you... you...!"

"Me...?" Naruto's face scrunched up. She didn't get it...

"You're not wearing _orange!_"

Naruto facevaulted. What...? She sighed. "Yeah. This little brat decided to prank me by dying all my clothes into... _this_." She held up the dyed jacket, nose wrinkling in distaste.

Sasuke snickered. Naruto felt her eye twitch. "TEME! Do you- Sakura-chan! What are you wearing!" Naruto looked horrified.

Sakura blushed and punched Naruto. "Don't look! This isn't for you, you stupid pervert! Only Sasuke-kun," she fluttered her eyes at the raven haired boy here, bringing forth a shudder, "can see me like this!"

Naruto scowled and blew it. Taking of her jacket in a swift movement, Naruto tossed the blue jacket at the girl. Sasuke's eyes honed in on the fan that was revealed. His eyes narrowed. What the... "Wear this! Just what the heck are you doing dressed like that in a forest on a day we're about to have the genin exam? You could get seriously hurt and not only that, but you never know what perverts might do to you!" she scolded, taking of her shoes. She tossed those at the girl as well. "Wear these also. They'll be better than _those_." She gestured scornfully at the pink stilettos. "If you're going to dress like this for one person, make sure you do it where you'll be alone! Think!"

Sakura glared, face red. What right did the dobe have to scold her? Even still, she put on the jacket and shoes. He _was_ right about some things after all... The jacket dwarfed her form despite Naruto's smaller size and covered her shorts making it look as though she wasn't wearing anything _but_ the jacket and shoes. Was this _really_ any better...?

She sighed. "Thanks... I guess..."

Naruto just shook her head. "Just make sure you don't wear stilettos to team meetings next time, okay?" She grinned and Sakura couldn't help but smile back a little. Damn, his grin was infectious!

Sasuke rose an eyebrow. "Hn. Dobe, you _do _know that you're not wearing any shoes anymore right?"

Naruto rolled her eyes. "Nah, I just feel rocks digging into my feet because my shoes are so thin," she commented sarcastically. "Of course I know!"

Sasuke glared. Naruto smirked. "What? Why so serious, teme? Ooooh! Scary glare! I'm _so_ terrified."

His glare intensified and Naruto kept making sarcastic remarks. Sakura watched them interact with a frown. They... didn't _seem_ like they were in love... Was she wrong...? But she thought about the hand and all the signs... No... she couldn't be wrong... Maybe they were hiding it...? Well, it didn't matter. Either way, she'd make him fall in love with her... She smiled determinedly.

"Shut up, dobe."

"Oh, 'dobe'. _So_ original. Like I haven't heard _that_ a million times."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "And like I haven't heard _uke_ and _teme_ from you a million times."

Naruto's eyebrow lifted and a superior smirk donned her face. "Well at least I vary. You just keep calling me dobe."

Sasuke growled and then tension grew thick. Lightning seemed to shoot between the two and they were extremely tense. "_Do-_"

"Hello all!" Kakashi chirped, appearing out of nowhere and jolting Sakura out of her fantasy. Naruto stopped in the middle of throwing a punch. "Nice to see you're getting along." The three genin hopefuls faceplanted. Was this guy for real?

"You're late!" Sakura shouted, pointing at the silver haired jounin.

"Hmmm?" He looked her over. "Weeeell... I was walking by a burning apartment and heard a ktten. SO being the gracious me, I couldn't just leave it there! And so, I took up the challenge of-."

"You're lying!" Sakura shouted once more, a few veins popping.

Kakashi laughed. "Wow, you figured it out pretty- ah." He stopped. "Why are you wearing no pants today, Sakura-chan...?"

Sakura sputtered. "WHAT!"

He pointed down. "No pants."

Sakura blushed. "I'm wearing shorts underneath!"

Kakashi paused for a moment. "Ah... I see... (silence)... Why is Naruto wearing no shoes...?"

Sakura groaned. "He let me borrow his..."

He looked down at her. "Hmmm... okay. Naruto!" He turned towards the blond. "Will you- ah. You're not wearing orange..."

Naruto twitched. Why did people keep bashing on the orange? Orange was a good color! What was wrong with it! She pouted. Stupid meanies... They were just jealous that they didn't have a cool signature color like her!

"But where was I? Oh yeah! Naruto, will you be okay doing this test barefoot?" He raised an eyebrow.

Naruto huffed. "Of course! It's not like this is the worst I've face before! I'm sure it'll be fine!"

Kakashi deadpanned. "Hmmmm... well, alright... now on to the test." Taking out an alarm clock, he set for noon and set it down on a log. Dangling a pair of silver bells, he smiled. "You have until noon to take them from me. Those who don't get a bell will be tied to a log and will get no lunch." His smile turned doubly evil (even if they couldn't see it, they could feel the evilness) as their stomachs growled accordingly. "There are only two bells so whoever doesn't get a bell will be tied to the stump. Not only that but the person who doesn't get a bell fails and will be sent back to the academy. Use whatever tools necessary. If you don't come at me with the intent to kill, you'll fail... miserably."

Sakura's eyes widened. "But! Sensei! You'll be in danger!"

Naruto laughed. "That's right! You failed to dodge my pranks and were hit by them all!"

Kakashi gazed at them skeptically. "Eeeeehhhh? Haven't you heard? In the real world, those with no talent often bark the loudest. Now, let's ignore _Mr. _Dead last who has no talent and will probably fail to achieve his dreams and start when I say..."

Naruto felt her anger rising. Her hands clenched around her kunai. However, before she could even make a move at him, Kakashi had his hand around her wrist and forced her hand behind her head... kunai aimed towards her. Naruto gulped. _'Scary...'_

"Maa maa! Slow down. I haven't even said start yet." His voice seemed to carry a sadistic threat. "In any case, it seems that you've got the coming at me with the intent to kill part down."

Sakura stared wide eyed. _'F-fast! I didn't even see... And I was going to do this in _stilettos_? Who was I kidding?'_

Sasuke gazed at the site before him, anticipation rising. _'So this is a jounin...'_

"So you've finally acknowledged me?" He smiled. "Well, it seems as if I'm finally beginning to like you guys. Okay, let's get going. Ready... START!"

They disappeared. "The basics of a ninja are to hide yourself," he said aloud, scanning the area. _'Good. They've all hidden well. Sasuke was hidden in a tree, Sakura under a bush and Naruto...' _

"Come and fight me head on!" She boasted in plain view, feet wide. She hadn't even moved. He sweatdropped and Sasuke was hard pressed to hold in a groan. _'That dobe...' _

"I said... Come and FIGHT ME!"

"Uh... aren't you a bit off?" Kakashi asked, giving the not orange genin another chance.

Naruto rolled her eyes, rushing at him. "The only thing off is your hair! It's gravity defying! And besides, where the hell do you expect me to jump to when I'm barefoot?"

Kakashi "ah"-ed and reached into his kunai holster causing Naruto to come to a halt. "Ninja fighting lesson number 1: Taijutsu. I'll teach you about it."

Naruto squinted. _'Taijutsu? Hand to hand? And yet... He's going to use a weapon?'_ His hand pulled out... a familiar orange book that was the bane of all women. She glared. "Eh? What's wrong? Aren't you going to come at me?" Kakashi taunted.

"But... But..." Naruto stuttered. "Why the hell do you have _book_ out? And a perverted one at that!"

"Why? Well.. I want to know what happens next. Besides, it's not like it'll _actually _make a difference." He hummed. Naruto twitched, hands clenching periodically.

"Are you insulting me?" she yelled, outraged. He hummed noncommittally. Her teeth clenched and she flexed her fingers.

"I'll beat you to a pulp!" She cried, rushing at him once more. But every punch and kick she made he somehow managed to block. Despite the fact that she displayed her moves clearly before hand, Kakashi was impressed by her strength. Definitely stronger that most kunoichi. Then again, she _did_ train with the boys... Deciding to give a high kick to the head, she swung her leg and missed. She gritted her teeth. _'How come he keeps dodging? Am I really so pathetic?'_

Fist clenched, she took a swing at his head only to hit thin air. "Huh?" She blinked.

"A ninja isn't supposed to get caught from behind, idiot," he drawled, hands forming a seal.

The two hidden genin hopefuls' eyes widened. _'No way... isn't that...'_

_'...the seal of the tiger? Isn't that for fire jutsu? You mean that bastard isn't going to just run around?'_

"Naruto! Get out of there!" Sakura shouted, not wanting to see anyone being fried any time soon. "You're going to die!"

"Huh...?"

Kakashi smiled sadistically. "Too late. Hidden Leaf Ancient Taijutsu Supreme Technique... A 1000 Years of PAIN!" he cried out, fingers aiming for Naruto's butthole. Naruto flew.

"AAAAAAAHHH! My butt! That _hurt_ you asshole!"

Sakura sweatdropped. _'Ancient Taijutsu Supreme Technique? Pffft. That's just a super powerful asspoke. But I'd better move. I revealed my spot for nothing.'_

_'...' _Sasuke apparently had nothing to say about the idiocy of what just happened.

Under water, Naruto cursed. _'Dammit! That wasn't supposed to happen! I was supposed to get the bells for both me and Sakura-chan!' _Gritting her teeth, Naruto reached behind her and pulled out some kunai, tossing as hard as she could. _'I can't fail here.'_

Unfortunately, Kakashi just grabbed the kunai with a finger, not even looking up from his book and giggling all the while. Naruto reached the banks, coughing. He gazed at her. "Is that all? I thought you were going to 'beat me to a pulp,'" he commented sarcastically. "What's wrong. If you don't get bell by noon, you'll fail and won't get lunch."

Naruto glared. "You think I don't know that! I do! But I'm hungry dammit and I don't have any shoes! I'm doing my best you fucking asshole!"

Sakura flinched slightly. _'Naruto is having trouble because he gave me his shoes... But... But! It's not like I told him to give me his shoes!' _she thought, rationalizing her actions.

_'I have to get those bells!' _She wiped her face determined to get them. Six kage bunshins jumped out of the water and she grinned cockily. "Ha! My specialty... Kage bunshin no Jutsu! Don't underestimate me _sensei!_" she cried out.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. _'So the rumors about her learning a technique in one night are true... but...' _"This doesn't change anything. No matter how many of you there are, you're still Naruto. You won't be able to de- Huh?" He stopped, feeling something jump on his back and grab hold of his arms.

"A ninja isn't supposed to get caught from behind, ne sensei?" a clone whispered. Kakashi's eyes widened. Did they actually repeat _his line? _To _him? _He almost smiled.

Naruto's came rushing at him. "My ass still hurts!" Naruto cried. "This is revenge you butt-raping scarecrow!" Kakashi sweatdropped. Butt-raping scarecrow? Wasn't that a bit mean...?

In the trees, Sasuke smirked. _'Nice plan dobe.'_

"Here it comes!" Sending a punch at him and grasping for both bells, Naruto was surprised to see her sensei turn into a clone of herself. "Eh!" The two clones (one being held and one holding) went flying.

Some how coming to the conclusion that a henged Kakashi was among them, the Narutos started a brawl with each other. It was only when one of them suggested "Ne! Why don't we just release the jutsu? That way we'll know who's real and who's not!" that they stopped.

The real Naruto paused in the middle of punching her clones. "Ah! Why didn't _I_ think of that!" With a burst of concentration, they all disappeared with a poof, leaving her by herself. She wilted pathetically. _'He's not here...'_

Sasuke sighed. _'Dobe... it was Kawarimi!'_

Sakura gaped. _'What an idiot! How uncool!'_

Sighing, Naruto walked towards the tree, wincing every now and then when she stepped on rocks. A few would cut her feet every now and then but in the adrenaline of the fight, she never really noticed. Sasuke noted her wince and stored his observations in the back of his head. Mid-wince, she noticed a stray bell lying by a tree. "Ah! He must have been desperate to escape and dropped a bell!" She sped towards it. Just as she was about to pick it up she was jolted upside down by a rope. "What the hell is this!"

Sasuke slapped his forehead, up in his hiding spot. _'Idiot... That was obviously a trap...'_

Naruto kept struggling, bent on reaching that god. damned. BELL! Sadly, she didn't make it in time before Kakashi stopped in front of her and picked up the bell. "AH! My bell!"

Kakashi sighed. "Think before using a jutsu or it'll be used against you. Oh, and don't fall for such an obvious trap."

"God dammit!"

"Read underneath the underneath, Naruto!" he chided.

Naruto saw red. "I know all that crap already!" she burst, enraged by it all. Dammit! She was so close! DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMI-

"I'm telling this to you because you obviously don't!" Kakashi glared. "You-"

_'There!' _Sasuke thought, taking this chance to throw a couple of shuriken at him. They hit, freaking Naruto out before a poof appeared, revealing a log.

"!"

_'Damn! Kawarimi! I just revealed my hiding spot! He purposefully left some openings and I fell for his trap! Dammit!'_

_

* * *

_

_Meanwhile, with Sakura..._

_'Sasuke-kun... Where are you! Could Kakashi-sensei have already... No!' _Spotting Kakashi, Sakura couldn't help but sag in relief as she hid. _'Good. He hasn't seen me.'_

"Sakura. Behind you," he said.

_'Huh?' _Turning, she saw a wide eyed Kakashi just behind her. About to scream, Sakura was startled by a tornado of leaves. _'What...?'_

"W-what was that? Where's sensei? What's going on?" she exclaimed, looking this way and that.

"_... mmmm... Sasuke-kun!_" a voice moaned. "_Don't..._"

Sasuke-kun! Excited and with hearts in her eyes, Sakura turned. "Sasuke-kun!"

Seeing the site before her, Sakura gasped in horror. "NO! NO! NONONONONONO! NOOOOOOO!" she bellowed before welcoming the darkness, frothing at the mouth and blood spurting out of her nose. _'Sasuke-kun... I failed you...'_

Staring at the knocked out girl, Kakashi sweatdropped. Maybe he was a bit too harsh...? But how was he supposed to know she'd react that strongly to seeing her teammates making out with each other... half naked... He snickered before disappearing with a poof.

Close by, Sasuke headed towards the scream. _'Only a sadist would bring about that sort of scream. He'll be there...'_

"Shinobi Fighting Lesson number 2: Genjutsu. Sakura fell easily for it." The voice rang out across the clearing.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "I'm not the same as them..."

The silver haired jounin smiled. "Say that after you get the bell... ex-panda-kun!"

* * *

_With Naruto..._

Cutting the rope, Naruto couldn't help but scream in frustration. "Dammit! 'Underneath the underneath' my ass! Fucking Moron! Who the hell does he think he is!" Falling down, Naruto declared that she would never fall for such a trap again... and promptly fell for the same trap as she landed on the ground. "DAMMIT! THE SAME TRAP AGAIN!"

Swinging back and forth, Naruto clenched her teeth and grabbed another kunai. "Fuck this! I'm hungry!" At the peak of her swing, Naruto cut the rope loose and flipped forward, landing on the trap free ground. "The hell if I'm going to do this hungry. The foods just laying out, I might as well eat it!" And so, our heroine snuck towards the logs in hopes of stealing the bento boxes. Shortly after tripping over a pair of stilettos, Naruto was able to swipe the bento.

"Itadakimasu!" she cried, snapping open her chopsticks. Suddenly she felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle.

"_Naruto!_"

Her eyes widened. "HHIIIIEEEE!"

* * *

_With Sasuke and Kakashi..._

Patting the Uchiha on the head, Kakashi smiled. "Shinobi Fighting Lesson number 3: Ninjutsu. While I'll admit you're above the others, it's still not enough. Nice try though! It should take you a while to get out of that hole. Next time, don't forget to look down." Whistling, he poofed away, causing Sasuke to grit his teeth in anger. How dare that bastard pull him underground...

"SASUKE-KUN! I'm sorry!" Sakura shrieked, sitting up arubtly. Running around searching for Sasuke, she stood frozen, spotting his head on the ground. Her eyes were wide and tears started to form. "...his... his... his severed head!" she weakly trembled, lips quivering. Once more, she fainted and Sasuke just sweatdropped.

"Hey... Haruno... oi! Haruno!"

When Sakura awakened once more, she awoke to the sight of Sasuke, full body and all. Overjoyed with relief she jumped at him, catching him by surprise. "Sasuke-kun! You're alright!" she beamed, hugging him. Thank god! He's not a dead talking severed head! ...Nor is he making out with Naruto!

Sasuke shivered in disgust. "Don't hug me! Anyways," he continued as she let him go, "I'm going on."

Sakura blinked. "Eh? You're going to continue? But there's not much time left!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "I already touched it. This time, I'll grab it."

"What!" she blurted out in shock. "O-oh! I see.. but... well, you know... There's always next time Sasuke-kun! W-why don't you hang out with me?" She smiled weakly. _'This is bad! This is bad! I won't be able to get a bell! At this rate, I'll be separated from Sasuke-kun! Then I won't be able to turn him straight or become Mrs. Uchiha!'_

Sasuke glared at her, stopping her from saying anymore. She gulped. "Sakura..."

"H-hai! Yes, Sasuke-kun?" She smiled. _'He called me Sakura! Maybe... maybe he'll stay with me! Yes! Love prevails!'_

"... you're annoying," he bluntly announced, eyes blazing.

Sakura flinched. _'Annoying...? I'm... annoying...?'_

Sasuke continued. "You have the strength and brains to be a decent kunoichi but you don't apply yourself, forcing people to take care of you." _'People like Naruto,'_ he silently added. "It's a waste of potential and causes you to be a burden on society."

Sakura felt herself getting colder with each passing word. _'Waste of potential...? Burden...?'_

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "I'm not going to be some prince so stop acting so pathetic." He turned and walked away.

Sakura felt smaller than she had in a long time and just watched him, frozen. "Am I really that bad...?" she whispered to the wind, feeling confused as well as heartbroken.

Thirty minutes later, the alarm clock rung with no one able to get the bell. They gathered around the stumps with only Naruto tied up. Kakashi gazed evenly at them all.

"You look hungry. Hmmm.. Well, it seems that you three won't need to go back to the academy," he called out.

The three looked up. Naruto's eyes brightened. "Ah...!"

_'Eh? All I did was pass out. Was that really enough...?'_

"Bah." Sasuke smirked slightly. Of course he'd pass, even without the bell. He was an _Uchiha_ after all.

"Then... then... that means all three of us..." Naruto's eyes gleamed in anticipation.

Kakashi smiled cheerfully. "That's right... all three of you... should just quit as ninjas." His eyes opened to reveal a piercing gaze. They all froze, staring. Kakashi's eye turned murderous. "Give it up. Not one of you three... will _ever_ be a ninja!"

"What the fuck do you mean... GIVE UP!" Naruto raged, squirming. "Give me a break! So maybe none of us got one of your stupid bells! But why the hell should we quit over that?"

Kakashi was silent for a moment before his voice ghosted over to them. "Because not one of you... has what it takes..."

Sasuke's hand clenched around his kunai. Not have what it takes? Don't fuck with him... He watched his family die before his eyes. He was stronger and better than the others. He needed to be. He didn't have what it takes...? He needed to avenge his clan! Eyes narrowing, he rushed at the jounin. A moment later, he was on the ground, Kakashi on top of him.

"What you three are... is just a trio of spoiled brats who'll never make it." He sneered at them.

"Get off of Sasuke-kun! Don't step on him!" Sakura automatically snapped.

Kakshi glared at them. "Are you trying to make fun of the shinobi with your behavior? Well? Are you! Did you ever stop to wonder for one minute... why you were divided into teams?"

"Uhh... excuse me?" Sakura stuttered. Why did people keep saying she was pathetic? That she was a disgrace...? Her hands clenched, unnoticed by the others. Was she really that bad...?

Kakashi groaned. "Obviously not. So you missed the entire point of the exercise."

Naruto gaped, astonished. "You mean... it had a point?"

"Of course. And that point determines whether or not you would succeed."

Sakura stammered a bit. "But... you haven't even explained what the point is!"

Kakashi looked at them individually, shaking his head. "... I don't believe this."

"Come one already! Tell us!" Naruto burst out, having lost her patience.

"It's... Teamwork." The three widened their eyes in shock. _'...Teamwork...?'_

"If the three of you had come at me together, you might have been able to take the bells."

"But wait a minute!" Sakura interrupted. "If we were expected to function as a team, why did you only have two bells! Even if we'd worked together one of us still would have to go without lunch! You're preaching teamwork but you played us against each other!"

Kakashi laughed harshly. "Of course. This task was designed to cause dissension in your ranks."

"!"

"What-!"

"The situation was set up to reveal which of you would set aside you own interests and propose to work together for the good of all. Instead... Sakura! You ignored Naruto, who was right in front of you, while you focused on Sasuke when you didn't even know his location. And don't get me started on your lack of preparedness! You wore _stilettos_ to a forest as well as clothes that would stand out in foliage! It's only thanks to Naruto that you were able to hide somewhat decently." Sakura looked away, ashamed and he continued. "Sasuke had already decided the others would just get in the way and that he was better off playing solo. Naruto was only slightly better. He, at least, gave up his shoes and jacket for Sakura and tried to get both bells. But he tried to do single-handedly what should have been the work of all three! You are a team! Learn to act as one! Yes, it's necessary for ninja to have individual skills, but... what's even more important now is teamwork! Working by yourself is bad for the team and exposes your comrades to unnecessary danger." He took the kunai from Sasuke's hand.

"You might as well kill them yourself. Here's an example... Sakura!"

"H-hai!" she stammered out, unprepared to be called on.

"Kill Naruto... or Sasuke dies." Kakashi held the kunai to Sasuke's neck and their eyes widened.

"WHAT?" Naruto yelled out. Kakashi got up from Sasuke. She sighed in relief. "Don't scare me like that!"

Kakashi ignored her and continued on with his speech. "The day could come, when one of you may be taken hostage and you're put into that sort of situation for real. When you're on a mission, your lives will always be on the line. But you're comrades' lives will be as well."

"..."

Kakashi walked up to an old chipped stone with engravings on it. "Look at this marker... All the names carved in the stone are heros of our village. Ninja."

Naruto's eyes shined in admiration. Heroes...?

"But... the ones listed there aren't just any heroes..."

"Really?" Sakura inquired. "What kind of heroes are they then, Sensei?"

Kakashi was silent for a moment before he answered. "The dead kind. They died in the line of duty." The mood became morose. Dead...? "This is a memorial. It includes the names of my best friends."

Naruto closed her eyes in respect.

"Pay attention!" Kakashi ordered abruptly, after a moment of silence. "I'm giving you all one last chance. One that will be _far_ more difficult than our last little game with the bells. If you're prepared to continue, you may eat one of the bento boxes. But no sharing with Naruto! He goes hungry."

"What! Why?" Naruto complained.

"You brought it on yourself when you tried to sneak lunch for yourself. If either of you feeds him, you'll fail the test right there. My word is law," he stated, sending out a small dose of killing intent. "Do you understand?" With that, he vanished with a poof.

Naruto chuckled uneasily. "Hey, this'll be a breeze! I can go without lunch! No problem! Ha ha!" Unfortunately, despite the false confidence brimming in her voice, her stomach chose to keep rumbling... loudly at that.

Some time later, her stomach still rumbled in hunger. Glancing to the side with chopsticks in his mouth, Sasuke offered his half filled bento. "Here. Eat."

"And just how am I supposed to do that? I'm tied up if you've forgotten!" Her eye twitched slightly.

"EH? Sasuke-kun! Kakashi-sensei told us-!"

"I'm not worried. He's probably long gone by now and we'll need all our strength if we're going to work together to get those bells. You're no good to me if you're just going to be a liability."

Naruto snorted. It was just like that asshole to do something nice and ruin it by some stupid self absorbed comment like that. Still...

Sakura stared at her bento. With a gulp, she shoved it towards Naruto. Naruto blinked. _'Sakura...' _She smiled. "Heh heh heh... thanks... But once again, I can't-"

Suddenly, a loud "BOOOM!" rang throughout the clearing. "WHAT THE HELL!"

"You..." Kakashi's face appeared out of nowhere like a ghost.

"!"

"AGH!"

"YAAAAAAAAAAH!"

He smiled and winked. "... Pass!"

They paused for a moment. "... eh...? We... pass...? But, why?" Sakura gasped, perplexed and grasping at her pounding heart. Those sort of surprises are _definitely _not good for the heart.

"You three have just taken a giant step forward. Up until now, all any of you have done is listen unquestioningly to everything I say... like mindless little drones. A true shinobi seeks for the hidden meanings within hidden meanings. In a ninja's world, those violate the rules and fail to follow orders are lower that garbage. However, those who can't care and support their comrades... are even lower than that!"

"Oh!" Sakura jubilated, finally getting it. Naruto smiled. _'Heh. That's... kinda cool...'_

"This exercise is now concluded! You all pass! That's all for today, team seven! Your duties will commence tomorrow!"

Naruto cheered "HA HA HA! I'm a ninja now! And on that same team as Sakura at that! Eh? Wait! Sakura-chan! Kakashi-sensei! Where are you going! Untie me!" she cried out, watching them go. She slumped a bit. Her feet hurt... and she was kind of tired...

Sasuke snorted, having stayed behind without Sakura's notice. "AH! Teme! What are you doing here?" she asked, squinting at him a little.

He looked at her and cut her ropes. Leaning down a bit, he motioned for her to get on. Naruto raised her eyebrows. "Haaa?"

Sasuke rolled his eyebrows. "Get on, dobe. Your feet are hurting right? They're all cut up and bleeding."

Naruto blinked and stared down at her feet. They were bloodied and cracked. Those rocks must've been sharper than she thought. "Huh. Well... what do you know." She stared at him distrustfully, glancing between him and her feet. "You're not going to do anything perverted are you?"

Sasuke scoffed. "Perverted? With a flat chested cross dressing girl like you? Yeah right. Just get on dobe! Be happy I'm even offering you this." Naruto huffed but got on his back anyways. He started to walk.

"Yeah yeah. So not cool, uke. Besides, I must not be that flat chested if you were able to feel it."

_Twitch_. "I thought we agreed I'm not an uke."

"Eh? Who said that? I gave you a black eye. How does that equal an agreement?"

"Hn."

_Twitch._ "_Uchiha_..."

_Smirk. _"... hey, dobe..."

"Yeah?"

"Why's your hair have purple roots...?"

"... because of a stupid brat who's going to die..."

"Ah..."

_Silence._ "Hey Uchiha."

"Hmm?"

"I blame you for Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei leaving me."

_Rolls eyes._ "Whatever..."

"Turn left here."

"Huh? But isn't your house over there...?"

_Eye twitches._ "I'm not even going to ask how you know where I live. But in any case. I'm hungry. We're going to Ichiraku's. _Then_ you can take me home."

"... slave driver."

_Smirk. _"But of course."

_Sigh. _"Whatever... ne, dobe...?"

"... yes...?"

"... Why are you wearing a shirt with the Uchiha clan symbol on it...?"

"..."

"Dobe...?"

"... just shut up and turn left!"

* * *

**A/N:** And then the scene fades to black! Dun dun dun! lol. Chapter five people! Hope you somewhat enjoyed it despite it's horrid similarities to the manga. (whimpers) I couldn't think of a good way to write this and everyone keeps changing their character! And honestly? I just wanted to get this part of the story done and over with. I'm more excited for the Wave arc because _Haku_ will be there and then there'll be _two_ cross dressers! :D lol

And yes! I _did_ make Riku, Sora and Kairi from Kingdom Hearts into squirrels! XD Can anyone guess what pairing I ship for? It's pretty obvious! (giggles)

I was really sad because I got these crazy good ideas for this chapter but then... I fell asleep and lost them! D: So then I made a crappy chapter. Luckily, I decided to revise it and this is the majorly revised version. Think about it this way. If you didn't like it, well.. be happy I revised it at the _last_ second (seriously... I revised it and then posted it up immediately). Otherwise, you'd be getting an even crappier version. :p

ah! My computer's got tojans like crazy on it right now so if it gets _waaaay_ too annoying, I _may _not update next week. :O Chances are that I will, but just in case, I'm warning you! okay?

Well... r/r? Please...? Seriously... tell me what you think cause I was kind of shaky on this one... The last few chapters I _loved _writing but this one... I'm not sure how it is. Give me feedback please!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary**: For her, she'd be willing to do anything... even give up her femininity. She'd be willing to be a guy... no matter what. All for her... Too bad Sasuke won't leave her be.

**Disclaimer**: La la la la! Ah? Me? Own Naruto? Why thank you- no... no I am _not_ Kishimoto... What do you mean? I _don't_ own Naruto then? Then why bother saying that I do! Make some sense!

**AN**: Ha ha... It's a week late... Sorry...? XD And if I angered anyone with my whole author note stunt... (cough) ... I apologize...? XD lol. It was sort of necessary though. I had a multitude of directions I could go but I didn't know what to chose. So yeah. Poll is still up so please help me choose direction to take. Many seem to prefer the "mix of it all" choice. Hmmm...

minor editing (very minor): 6.17.09

* * *

**No Matter What**

_Chapter 6_

_"How far away is the target?"_

_"Five meters and closing! So... How much longer are we going to wait?"_

_"I'm in position."_

_"So am I."_

_"All right! GO!"_

At once, all three genin made their move.

"HAI YA!" Naruto cried, grabbing the cat. "Gotcha!"

"MEOOOOW!"

_"Remember. Our quarry has a ribbon on its right ear that says 'Tora'... Make sure there's no mistake."_

Sasuke looked at the cat within Naruto's grasp as it yowled and scratched with all its might. "OW! No! Bad kitty! Don't put that there! No! I'm not a chew toy! Stop! C-CLAWS! Watch the claws!"

He sighed and responded dully. "Target confirmed."

Kakashi smiled. "Good! Then 'Mission: Find the Missing Cat' is accomplished."

* * *

Team seven stared horrified at the sight before them... well... 2/3 of it at least. One had a bit more... bloody thoughts running through her blond head...

_'Die! Die! Die! Chooooke... Squeeze harder lady... Mwahahahahaha! DIE YOU DAMN CAT!' _Naruto's eyes gleamed as she reveled in the sight of the choking cat. She even chuckled a bit, creepy out her teammates. Kakashi just sweatdropped. He couldn't help but wonder when that cat would die though... if he wasn't mistaken, _he_ had this mission when he was a genin. Damn. Way to make him feel old.

"Now, the next assignment for Kakashi's team seven will be... Hmmm... to babysit Konohamaru..."

Sasuke coughed interrupting the Sandaime. "I don't think that would be the best idea, Hokage-sama." He looked to his left, where Naruto stood.

Naruto's eyes lit up with sadistic fury upon hearing Konohamaru's name, thousands of ideas of what she could do to the brat running through her head. She _still_ hadn't found an opportunity to murder him, having been busy this past month with D-rank missions, training and other such things. By the time she got home, she was too wiped out to do anything and Konohamaru was making sure he didn't see her in the morning. Damn brat.

Sasuke felt a shiver go up his spine. His instincts kept telling him to run away. "Unless you want your grandson to die, it's best we don't take said mission."

The Sandiame nodded, eying the blond warily. Perhaps he _shouldn't_ have given Konohamaru that key... Pfft! Nah. "Then... your next mission will be to help dig sweet potatoes-"

Sakura had enough. She was sick of these crappy jobs! "Can't we have something _else?_ We've already done the minimum required amount for D-rank! Section 4-" Kakashi froze. Shit. He was _so_ going to get in trouble later.

The Hokage coughed. "Well... yes... I suppose you're right..."

They all blinked. She was...? Did that mean...

"... since you put it that way and it just so happens that we happen to have a C-rank mission for you, I'll allow you to attempt a task usually reserved for shinobi of the journeyman level... The protection of a certain individual..."

Naruto's head perked up. C-rank? No more crappy missions...? Something exciting for once? "Is it a _princess?_"

The Sandaime sweatdropped. "Er... no. It's not."

"Then who?" She leaned forward in anticipation, resembling an eager child who was being told a captivating story. Except... it was slightly more creepy since her eyes bulged out a bit... ew...

Meanwhile, Kakashi felt a sliver of doubt. Were they really ready for this...? The team dynamics seemed to have _changed_ just slightly from what he had observed that day on the rooftop and in the forest... at least on Sakura's side. Sakura, while still fawning over Sasuke, seemed to have backed down just a sliver. It was strange. He really didn't know what to make of it.

The Sandaime chuckled lightly. "You'll see. Now compose yourself. I'll make the introductions right away. Please come in."

The doors slid open and Naruto turned towards it. Were they going to be guarding a daimyo? Or maybe a grand person in charge of a very special item? Or maybe it's the lover of a prince who wishes to meet her in secret because his father doesn't wish for them to be together and so he sent assassins! Hmmm... But princess sounds better... hmm... "HIME-SAMA!" Naruto greeted chirpily, eyes closed happily and arms open wide. One of them smacked Sasuke in the face. He rubbed his nose.

"... 'Hime-sama'? What's going on here? That greeting had better not been for me." Contrary to Naruto's expectations, the person was not a princess or a daimyo or even someone who was in charge of an item. Not even the lover of some prince. No, instead it was an old man with a rope tied around his head, carrying a bottle of sake. He raised an eyebrow. "They look like a bunch of wet-nosed brats. Especially the midget. He's got the face of an imbecile. You aren't really ninja are you...? This is a joke right?"

Naruto laughed upon hearing his words. "Midget? Which midget? Which imbecile? Is he talking about you, teme? Ha ha! You're a-"

Sasuke sighed. "Dobe. He meant you."

Naruto stopped laughing and tilted her head. Her...? But she wasn't... She looked to both sides and noticed that she was the shortest... midget... imbecile... Her eyes turned deadly and she glared. She leaped at him only to be held back by Kakashi. "I'LL KILL HIM!"

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Wrong. No killing the old man you've been assigned to _protect_." Sakura and Sasuke just shook theirs heads, having gotten slightly used to the blond's antics. Tazuna stared, slightly creeped out. Maybe they weren't as incompetent as he had thought? But then again... the blond _was_ trying to kill him instead of protect him... Maybe he shouldn't have insulted them? Nah...

"I am Tazuna, a bridge builder of ultimate renown. Until I am safely back in my own country, where I'll be completeing my next bridge, you'll all be expected to protect me... even if it costs you your lives!"

Kakashi tilted his head, still restraining a raging Naruto. "Of course. We'll meet you at the gate at 6 AM."

* * *

_Gate, 10 AM..._

"You're late!" Sakura screamed pointing at their late instructor. It had sort of become a routine for Kakashi to be late and for Sakura to shout it out. And then would come the...

"Ah. Well, you see, I got lost on the road of life."

Sakura glared. "LIES!"

Sasuke just closed his eyes tiredly. What kind of jounin did they have as an instructor...? I mean, late even for missions...?

The gates opened and Naruto rushed out. "ALL RIGHT! ROAD TRIP!" She yelled excitedly.

Sakura looked at him skeptically. "What are you babbling about now, Naruto?"

Naruto turned around in circles taking in the forest excitedly. "This'll be the first time in my life that I've ever been outside of the village!"

Tazuna gazed at the orphan in disbelief. Pointing, he couldn't help but ask, "Am I really expected to place my in the hands of this fool?" Naruto stopped, mid-turn. Fool? First midget, then imbecile and now fool? Her eyes narrowed.

Kakashi sighed a bit. "There's no call for concern. I'm an elite ninja and I'll be going along too..."

_'This guy has got to be the worst client in the history of our village. And I'm not gonna let him give me any crap.' _Naruto turned towards the client. "Listen you old geezer! Don't mess with ninja ever! Especially not a really good one like me! I am the cream of the elite. I'll be protecting you so remember my name, you ungrateful jackass! It's not midget. It's not imbecile. It's not _fool!_ It's Uzumaki Naruto!" She pointed, her eyes narrowing into fox-like slits.

Tazuna raised an eyebrow, taking a swig of his bottle. "The cream of the elite...? Are you now...? You're "elite" must be pretty horrid then."

Naruto felt a vain throb. "You're dead!"

"I said _no_, Naruto. You are _not_ allowed to kill your client."

Not that far away, two eyes watched...

* * *

Kakashi was somewhat proud to see that his team had formed the beginnings of a formation to protect Tazuna with Naruto and Sakura at the front, Tazuna in the middle and Sasuke and him at the back. It wasn't the best, but it was good for an unconscious forming. He almost smiled. But of course... the puddle had to ruin his mood. Pity...

Both he and Sasuke had noticed it. It was slightly _obvious_ since it hasn't rained for quite a while now and it was exceedingly sunny, but foreign ninja wouldn't know that would they? At least, not the low rank ones. It would've probably been a good genjutsu too, if you'd been from say... _Kirigakure_... He wouldn't have to worry. His team could take care of it. But still... his eyes narrowed just the slightest bit. Tazuna had some explaining to do once this was over.

They had passed the puddle by now. Behind them, the puddle disappeared and two figures rose in their place. They grinned.

* * *

Sasuke was surprised by the sight before him. Kakashi was killed? But he was certain the silver haired man had noticed the genjutsu. It was strange... But he didn't really have a whole lot of time to contemplate as he caught site of the two nins heading towards his blond teammate. Just as they swung their chain, instinct took over and Sasuke jumped high, adrenaline rushing. He aimed and, with a slight twist of his wrist, accurately threw his kunai, catching their chain with a jerk and landed on their heads - all within seconds. He made a grab for their claws as he kicked off but missed.

Letting go of their chains the shinobi managed to escape and separate. One rushed off towards Tazuna and Sakura as she got into a ready stance, kunai in front of her. Sasuke let out a curse, pumping himself forward in an attempt to protect his teammate and client. She wouldn't last against this sort of enemy. He may not like the girl but no need to endanger the client. Not to mention what Naruto might do if she got hurt. He inwardly winced.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto's eyes widened as she, too, started forward.

No one noticed the nin's partner, silently speeding towards the distracted blond.

Just as the one in front of the raven haired genin took a swing, he was stopped by Kakashi. "I think that's enough!" he chirped, slight menace creeping into his voice. In his arms, both missing nin were knocked out. Sasuke relaxed upon seeing the instructor. Good. He was correct. Their sensei _had_ noticed.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cheered, relief permeating her voice. "You're alright!" She smiled, collasping down on the ground.

"That's correct. Great job Sakura. Sasuke." He smiled. Naruto got up from her position on the floor, hiding a wince and covering her hand with her jacket. Fuck. Kakashi continued, eyes turning to Tazuna. "I think you have some explaining to do. These are missing nin. This was not part of the mission. The level has just increased to above C-rank. Why did you lie?"

Tazuna gulped. "What... do you mean...?"

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "Don't fool around. Tell us the truth! Otherwise, we'll just turn back and leave you to go on with the mission by yourself."

Sakura shakily interrupted. "Er... Kakashi-sensei... Aren't we supposed to go on with missions, despite the complications...?"

Kakashi froze guiltily. "... That may be _true..._ but do you really want to go on...? There could be higher level ninja..."

Sasuke cut in, instilling a bit of confidence in Sakura who appeared slightly shaken by the idea of higher level ninja. Who was next? Some insane creep who killed everyone when they were just a kid...? "We'll be fine. We can deal and we'll be more prepared now that we're more aware of the dangers."

Sakura's eyes turned into hearts. Just like her Sasuke-kun! She innerly squealed. Her fangirling was annoying but that didn't mean that she couldn't just do it inside right? It would just be added to the slowly growing collection of things that Sasuke-kun would not find attractive... otherwise known as "inner Sakura".

Kakashi sighed. Dammit... now he might actually not find time to read his precious Icha Icha. "Fine. If you all agree."

"Hn."

"I-if Sasuke-kun says so, then we're ready!"

Naruto a strained smile, unnoticed by her team. "Who am I to argue?"

Kakashi almost groaned. "Fine. We'll continue. Tazuna-san? You're explanation?"

Tazuna sagged in relief upon hearing their agreement to protect him. He'd been ready to pull out the big guns. A long exaggerated diatribe about his daughter mourning after his death would have probably gotten them to go along but he _much_ preferred this. It made him feel less guilty. "Let's move. I'll tell you on the way there."

As they moved on, the Demon Brothers tied up for ANBU to catch, Kakashi couldn't help but think that he had forgotten something important. Something... Something...

Moving forward, Naruto clutched her sleeve covered arm tighter. Shit... Why was she seeing double?

* * *

**A/N:** Yes.. it is short... especially when I've had two weeks to do it... not to mention its almost identical to canon. Reason for taking so long for such a short chapter...? None really in particular other than that I didn't feel like writing more and felt it was a good stop. :P Meh. lol. But! Worry not! Since it's _now_ Winter Break for me, I have a lot more time to write for you guys. As an apology for the note stunt and this short chapter as well as not posting last week, I'll be posting a chapter on Monday! Yay! Lol. Well hope you enjoyed the extremely short chapter! Sorry for the crappy fighting scene. I suck at writing it. Anyone got any advice? (gives you hopeful look)

Oh and as for the poll... I'd like to tell you all... that you've chosen the choice with the sequel! Lol. Yeah. The whole "mix of it all" choice includes a sequel in its package as well as a bit of seriousness added into the kick. More romance and humor shall also be on its way since people seem to like it... Just... it's not really in this chapter... lol.

**Q: Where's this going?  
**

**A: **_... er... Can't tell you too much other than it'll stop at the whole leaving thing and that a sequel shall be made... :P_

**Q: Why was Naruto wearing a shirt with the Uchiha symbol?**

**A: **_Konohamaru decided that it would be a funny prank since well... you know... he thinks they're gay for each other. Meh. Naruto doesn't reply cause she thinks embarrassed. She'd been hoping no one would notice._

Anyways! R/R! Even if it is to tell me you're disappointed!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary**: For her, she'd be willing to do anything... even give up her femininity. She'd be willing to be a guy... no matter what. All for her... Too bad Sasuke won't leave her be.

**Disclaimer**: La la la la! Ah? Me? Own Naruto? Why thank you- no... no I am _not_ Kishimoto... What do you mean? I _don't_ own Naruto then? Then why bother saying that I do! Make some sense!

**AN**: Hello everyone! Here's you apology chapter! XDDD

minor editing: 8.24.09

minor editing II: 8.5.10

* * *

**No Matter What**

_Chapter 7  
_

As they stopped for the day, she couldn't help but be relieved. Somehow, through some unbelievable feat, she had managed to hide her disorientation from everyone. This was partially due to the fact that everyone was contemplating the situation occurring in Wave country. Tazuna's tale had shocked her companions a bit. All this was occurring in a nation so close to their own and no one had a clue? It was a bit unnerving and left a bad taste in their mouths. In any case, they never noticed and she was glad for it. But still... part of her couldn't help but wonder. Did they not notice because they just didn't care? She quickly shook that notion out of her mind._ 'Not the time.'_

It had become increasingly hard to concentrate as they continued on their journey to the Wave. Every now and then, she would have a few moments where her sight was perfect but even as Tazuna told his tale, she kept seeing images colliding with one another and she had even stumbled a few times. Luckily, her companions just attributed those incidents to a few conveniently placed rocks. She really couldn't figure out what was wrong with her but she knew that if she didn't get it together soon, someone would notice. And that just wouldn't do... She'd failed enough on this mission.

She grimaced. Back there with those Kiri nins, she'd frozen. Seeing her sensei being cut apart had shocked her to the core. When they went after _her_, she couldn't move. Couldn't bring herself to do _something_. It was all too reminiscent of that time when she was watching Sakura cry or that time when Mizuki threw the fuma shuriken at her. Of the three times that she'd frozen up, Sasuke had saved her twice. She gritted her teeth.

If that wasn't enough, when that Kiri nin went after Sakura, all she'd done was shout out her name. _Sasuke_ had been the one to protect her. Not_ her._ Not Naruto. Not Naru. Not... Not _her_ who had vowed she wouldn't allow anyone to hurt Sakura. Her hands clenched. Dammit. Dammit. Dammitdammitdammit! DAMN IT!

In a way, she was a bit glad ninja had managed to hurt her before Kakashi-sensei saved her. The scratch would serve as a reminder of her failure. But, of course... it had healed and faded already, only leaving a faint white scar that would quickly disappear by tomorrow morning. She had always been a quick healer. It was just another thing that separated her from the rest of the world. Huh. A bitter smile flashed across her face, quickly disappearing before anyone could see it.

"Oi, dobe!"

Her head snapped up and she glared. Which one was he, dammit! "What do you want now, teme?"

He raised an eyebrow at her and quirked his lips. "You're soup is spilling..."

She blinked. Soup? She looked down and, what do you know, her soup _was_ spilling. When had that gotten there...? Her brows furrowed. Damn, she really must be out of it if she didn't even notice food in front of her. "Oh."

Sasuke stared. "Are you okay, dobe? Or did that battle really shake you up that badly, scaredy cat?"

She stood up arubtly, bowl falling to the floor and soup spilling. "What was that, teme!"

Sasuke didn't even bother to get up. "You heard me. Even Sakura's dealing with it better than you."

She was shaking now, both from anger and fatigue. Just standing up like that had made her dizzy. Fuck. How much longer would she be able to keep this hidden? "Shut-"

"Naruto!" a feminine voice growled out from behind her. She turned slowly, coming face to face with a pink haired kunoichi that was slowly becoming increasingly red. She backed away a bit. "You just spilled the soup I toiled over..." Her eyes gleamed.

Naruto sweatdropped. "Ah... _you_ made that, Sakura-chan? Hahahahaha! I... er... I didn't mean to!"

Sakura stalked forward a bit. "Pick. It. Up." Naruto backed a way a bit more, moving closer to the fire. There was silence for a moment. "NOW."

"W-what do you mean?" Naruto was only a foot from the fire by now and had raised her hands up in the universal sign of "I'm innocent!".

Sakura's eyebrow twitched. "I said pick it up right now! Pick it up and eat it!"

Naruto gaped. "Eat it? But... but... It fell on the floor already!"

"Do you think I care! That's food you wasted! I don't care if you have to eat the dirt with it! Eat it!"

Kakashi decided it was time to intervene. "Maa maa! I think that's enough for now, Sakura-chan."

She turned her evil eye on him, causing him to sweatdrop. It was a bit creepy how intimidating she could get if she got angry enough. Who knew what would happen if she found a way to effectively use that in combat. Her opponents would probably be scared stiff. "Fine then! But don't expect me to make any more!" she huffed, angrily stalking back to her seat. Naruto sighed in relief.

"I think I should go to bed." She walked off to her tent. Due to her status as a crossdressing female, she was unable to share a tent with Sasuke, who was a hormonal boy, and Sakura, who had no clue about her secret. She had absolutely refused to share a tent with Kakashi, the pervert that he was, and had therefore gotten a tent of her own. Actually... everyone had gotten their own tent. It had just worked out that way.

"Ah. You'll have the second to last shift. Right after Sakura and just before Sasuke."

"Hai, hai!" She raised her arm in good night.

* * *

When Sakura went to wake up her teammate, she had no clue as to what would greet her. She was a little bit apprehensive because, let's face it, you never knew how people sleep. She always read books where the girl walked into the boy's room to find his asleep. Naked. And she _really_ did not want to see that. Unless it was _Sasuke-kun_ of course. He was the exception. But even still... there were certain parts she wasn't exactly sure she was ready to see yet. She blushed at the thought.

Luckily, when she walked into her teammate's tent, she didn't see him naked. No, what greeted her sight was not a naked blond. It was a pale Naruto sweating unhealthily. He groaned painfully as he tossed and turned, whimpering at certain moments. Dark splotches coated his face and she couldn't tell just what it was in the dark. Even a numskull could tell that this wasn't good.

She carefully walked up to him and, when she reached out to find out what was wrong, she realized it was blood. Her eyes widened. Naruto chose that moment to wake up, groaning.

Opening her heavy eyelids groggily, she was shocked to see pink hair. "Sakura-chan...? What are you-"

"Blood..." The whisper had been so quite that Naruto almost didn't hear her. But even if she hadn't, she'd have known something was wrong by the way she was pointing at her face. Her brows furrowed.

"What...?"

"Y-your... face... It has blood," Sakura forced out shakily. God, what was going on? How long had her teammate been like this? Did... Did no one notice?

Naruto reached up and touched her face. Her fingers came back smeared with a dark liquid. "... Oh." She laughed shakily. "Ha ha.. D-don't worry! I'm sur-"

"Naruto! How long has this been going on? I'm going to get-"

"No! Don't." The Kyuubi vessel's eyes seemed to glitter as she gazed through the darkness at her precious person. "It's nothing to worry about."

"But-"

"Sakura. You heard Tazuna. If we left now - which we _will_ if they find out about this - then a whole _country_ will be screwed over. We can _help_ these people, but if we leave... so many people will die. I'll be fine." She smiled lightly.

Sakura shook her head slowly, unconvincingly, already knowing that she'd lost the battle. "Even still... its not-"

"Thank you for worrying but I'll be okay. This is the first time this has happened. I probably just scratched by face on a rock or-"

"It's located near you mouth!" She was getting slightly hysterical by now. "Naruto!"

"Sakura." Her voice was quiet but it cut through her hysteria, calming her down. "I can't leave now. Please," she stared at her pink haired teammate pleadingly, "don't. Don't tell them. Trust me..."

She sighed reluctantly. She just knew she'd regret this. "If you show any signs of getting worse, I'm telling someone."

Naruto beamed at her. "Thank you, Sakura-chan!" Her head tilted. "But... er... why are you here anyway?"

Sakura's eyes widened. "Ah! It's your shift to watch! But I think I can do an extra shift-"

Naruto rolled her eyes, smiling. "Don't even think about it. I'm fine."

Sakura pursed her lips. "But-"

"Go! Shoo! Off to bed! I'm fine!" She smiled encouragingly and Sakura reluctantly went out of the tent.

"Alright..."

When Naruto was sure Sakura was in her tent and out of sight, she gasped painfully and clutched at her mouth to muffle her coughs. Her hand came away red.

* * *

By the time, she had to wake up Sasuke, she was clean of blood and strangely enough, she could see without the double images for longer periods of time. She had figured out that things seem to get worse when she was moving. Every now and then, her muscles would freeze up and she'd drop things. It was frustrating and she didn't know what to do but she was currently just glad that she had a longer time to aim properly. After a bit of tinkering, she figured out a way to get rid of the disorientation.

Sighing, she walked into Sasuke's tent and was greeting with the sight of a sleeping Sasuke. She crouched in front of him and scrutinized the sleeping genin, eyes narrowed slightly. "Hmm..." she thought aloud, hand brought to her chin in the universal thinking gesture. "You wouldn't think that someone who looks that nice was a pervert." She reached out and poked his cheek just as an eye opened.

"Whose the pervert now?" a voice husky from being woken up grumbled. Naruto's eyes widened as she scrambled away from the genin who was getting up.

"AAAAAAHHH! ZOMBIE!"

Sasuke's eye twitched the slightest bit before he shook his head. "First I'm a pervert. Then I'm gay and I bottom at that. And now I'm a zombie. What's next, dobe? Am I going to be a snowman?"

Naruto raised her eyebrow. "Snowman? It doesn't snow in the fire country, smartass. No... you shall be... a bunny!" She grinned victoriously.

Sasuke faceplanted. A bunny...? What the... "Whatever. At least I'm not an idiot like _someone_ here."

Naruto gaped. "Excuse me?"

He rolled his eyes. "You heard me. An idiot. That was the - what... second? third? - time that I've had to save you from an incoming weapon. When will you learn to _move_ when a weapon comes your way?"

She almost pouted. "Shut up."

"Oh now you've degenerated to a three year old."

"What kind of three year old do you know that tells someone to shut up...?"

"..."

"What? Not going to answer me?"

"..."

"Are you... giving me the _silent_ treatment?"

"..."

"Oi... teme! TEEEEMEEE!"

"..."

"_Now_ whose being the little kid, hmmm?"

"..."

"Oi! Teme! Talk already!"

"..."

"Fine then! F-you!"

"C-K-Y-O-U."

She blinked. "What...?"

"C-K-Y-O-U."

"... C... Kyou?"

Sasuke sighed. "You said 'F-you.' I just replied with 'C-K-Y-O-U.' Learn to spell, dobe."

She paused for a moment. F... U... C... K... Y...O... U... Hmmm... "Oh! It spells Fuck yo- Hey! Wait a moment! Teme! How dare you... teme...?" She looked around the tent for a moment but found it empty, save for herself. Her teammate had left. She growled and then grinned. Heh heh. The fool had left her all alone in his- A hand reached out from outside and grabbed her by the back of her jacket.

"I'm not stupid enough to leave you alone with my stuff," was the only explanation. Naruto caught the hidden reference to her mistake with Konohamaru.

"I despise you."

"Hey, gaki! When the hell are you going to shut up? You're too loud!" Tazuna's voice rang out. "It's not even light yet and you've woken up the whole camp. Now eat your breakfast."

The two genins froze and finally noticed that everyone had woken up. Sakura and Kakashi had even gone so far as to start making some breakfast. Were they _really_ that loud. With a wince of shame, both sat down to eat.

When all had finished, they packed their belongings and headed off once more. About an hour later, images started to collide with one another and Naruto decided that it just wouldn't do. So... she closed her eyes and used her ears. How lovely, no?

Some time into their journey, Naruto heard a rustle in the bushes that differed from the usual. As fast as she could, she threw her kunai into the direction, scaring Sakura who was just a foot behind her. As she brushed aside the bush, much to her horror, she found a terrified bunny.

"Ahhh! Usagi-chan! I'm soooooorry! I didn't know it was you!" she wailed, earning some stares from the members of the party who weren't aware of her actual gender. "Usagi-chan!"

Kakashi sweatdropped. "Ne, Naruto... You - Everybody get down!" he yelled suddenly, grabbing Sakura and Tazuna by their necks and pushing them down on the ground. Sasuke automatically followed the command and Naruto crouched down to grab at the bunny that had bitten her to escape, narrowly missing having her head chopped off by a giant sword. She gulped, glancing between the bunny and the sword deep within the tree. If Usagi-chan had been a bit slower in its attempt to escape...

"Momochi Zabuza..." Kakashi stared evenly at the figure atop the giant sword's handle. "Naruto. Sasuke. Sakura. Don't interfere. Guard Tazuna and give me room. This guy is different from our other opponents." The three automatically followed his command, hearing the hidden warning in his tone.

"Kakashi of the Sharingan eye, I presume?" He chuckled. "No wonder the demon brothers failed."

_'Sharingan...? What the hell is that...?'_

_'Sharingan...? But how? Only the Uchiha could...'_

He reached up and lifted his hitai-ate from his left eye, revealing to his genin for the first time, the Sharingan. Sasuke's eyes turned glacial, his gaze fixated at the site.

"Haa...? To face the legendary Sharingan so early in our acquaintance. This truly _is_ an honor," he drawled, smirking confidentially. "Well, as nice as this has been, I'm afraid that I'll have to hurry this up. I'm on a tight schedule to polish off the old man. But it looks like I'm going to have to kill you off first." Even as he said this, a mist had started to build up. By the time he disappeared, they weren't able to see a foot in front of them.

"W-what the heck is up with this fog?" Naruto looked around, hands on her kunai. "I can't see for shi-"

_"There are eight targets..."_

"What...? What was that?" Sakura's voice shook the slightest bit.

_"Throat, spinal column, lung, liver, the jugular vein, the subclavian artery, kidney, heart... So many choices... What vital, vulnerable place shall I choose...?" _A creepy laugh rang throughout the clearing.

The foreboding words had managed to scare even Sasuke. They had known all this but still! Knowing was so different from _this. _His hands began to shake and-

"Sasuke. Calm down." His tone wasn't comforting in the least bit but for some reason, it worked. "Even if he gets me, I'll still protect you. I will..." He turned the slightest bit, smiling. "... _never_ let my comrades die!" The three genins smiled. Of course. They were there together.

_"Ho? I wouldn't bet on that... Game over." _The whisper came from just behind them.

Just then, Zabuza swooped down on them, his sword swinging. Kakashi was able to stop him and stab him before any harm was done but unfortunately, the missing nin just burst into water.

"Ah! Sensei! Behind you!" Naruto cried out, catching a blurring vision of a tall shape behind her sensei. The sword cleaved through their sensei, earning a scream from Sakura before bursting into water. Their sensei managed to reappear behind Zabuza, holding a kunai against his throat.

"Don't move. It's over." His tone held enough ice to freeze even death. But it didn't faze the shinobi who just smirked.

"Good plan, but too bad for you it didn't fool me." He took the chance to swing his zanbuta as Kakashi ducked. Strands of hair floated in the air. It was that close. Undaunted by this, Zabuza used the sword to balance himself and sent a powerful kick into Kakashi's side. He flew all the way into the water with a splash.

Zabuza reappeared behind their teacher and went through a string of handseals and Kakashi was suddenly in a swirling bubble of water. "Heh. Welcome to my inescapable prison. You're screwed. I'll deal with you after the others." A mizu bunshin arose out of the water and stalked towards them.

"Heh. Look at the little shinobi wanna-be wearing their hitai-ates like they know what the hell they're doing. But clothes don't make the shinobi - especially not _orange_ clothing. You're kind aren-"

"Clothes don't make the shinobi? Is that why you aren't wearing a shirt? And what's up with your pants? They look gay, you eyebrowless freak!" Naruto shouted, having heard enough of the blabber. _No one _made fun of _her_ clothes. Orange ruled, dattebayo!

The clone twitched. "Well, you're clothes just make you look like a retard shouting out 'Kill me!', brat!" With that said, he rushed forward. Naruto could hear him coming but, as she began to move, her muscles froze in pain. By the time she got control of her muscles, she was already flying in the air having gotten kicked in the stomach.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried out.

The brat interrupted his speech. He hadn't planned on kicking the brat but, dammit, he ruined his kickass speech! He was going to give them a chance to run - killing kids was no fun now a days - but now... His eyes narrowed. Fat chance of that!

"Everyone! Listen! Take Tazuna and go! You can't win this fight! He's out of your league! He can't move while holding me here and if his bunshin gets to a certain distance, he loses control. So get out of here!"

Naruto painfully got up from her position on the ground. "Ne, sensei. I thought konoha shinobi weren't supposed to leave their teammates behind..." She coughed painfully, spraying out morsels of blood that had gotten so _familiar_ these days. Only difference was that this time... there was a shit load more. "And since that happens to be the dogma you've been drilling into our heads from the very beginning, you should probably shut up. We aren't going anywhere." Kakashi gave a slight wince. Did they have to use his words against him? She gave a foxy grin. Hey, things weren't dizzy anymore! "Hey Sasuke!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Hn. What is it dobe?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'll let go of that 'Hn' just this once. I've got a plan. Ne, Tazuna-san."

Tazuna blinked. "Yeah?"

"You okay with staying here for just a while longer...?"

He sighed, smiling slightly. "I got you all into this mess. Might as well let you do what you want. Go ahead. Wreak havoc."

Naruto's eyes gleamed. "You heard the old man. Sasuke!"

"Yeah yeah. Teamwork right?" He smirked the slightest bit.

"Heh. It seems that you brats just don't get it." Zabuza smirked. "By the time I was-"

"Oh fuck off already! You're just making yourself sound old, no brows! Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Dozens of Naruto clones appeared and tackled Zabuza. Unfortunately, he just cleaved through all of them. One of them pulled out a fuma shuriken and threw it at Sasuke. "Catch, uke!"

"Dammit! Even _now?_" he growled.

Zabuza froze for a moment. Uke...? _Uke?_ He burst into laughter. God, what a crazy set of genin! Sasuke blushed the slightest bit before his eyes widened as he grabbed the fuma shuriken sent his way. He grinned. So that's what the dobe had planned.

He threw it but instead of hitting the clone like most had thought, it swerved around and headed straight for the original. The clone grabbed it but another appeared in its shadow. Zabuza's eyes widened. However, just before it managed to hit him, he just grinned and jumped. Not bad for a set of newbie genin brats. Before he could taunt anyone, he heard a poof behind him and as he turned, he caught sight of a kunai headed his way. Instinct taking over, he had no choice but to dodge, pulling his hand out of the cage. It still managed to scratch his face. His eyes narrowed at the orange kill me. Just as he was about to throw the same fuma shuriken thrown at him, another hand grabbed it.

"I guess your brat aren't all that bad. Just shitty annoying." The words were cold and he was still staring at Naruto, creeping her out just the slightest.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "I know."

"Tch. Conceited."

And then, the real battle started. It was a mind game really with Kakashi winning. He held an upper hand and Zabuza was getting increasingly affected by his tricks. Were his attacks really being copied and used against him? Was he reading his mind? Just what the fuck was going on. Just as Kakashi was going for the finishing blow, two senbon pierced through Zabuza's neck.

"Thank you for the help. I hope you don't mind my interferring..."

"Who the hell are you?" Naruto squinted at the figure wearing a mask.

"Naruto. That's enough." Kakashi stared at the figure. "That mask... You're a hunter nin from Kiri are you not?"

He chuckled quietly. "That's correct. Once again, I thank you for you're assistance. But I must depart and dispose of the body."

He appeared before Zabuza's dead body in a swirl of leaves before vanishing once more, this time, taking Zabuza's body with him.

"Sensei... Who was that guy?"

Kakashi sighed, lowering his hitai-ate. "He was a hunter nin. They hunt down shinobi who've turned traitor. He's probably stronger than me..." He patted Naruto on the head. "Now let's head towards Tazuna's."

"Ho ho ho! You all must be-"

"AGH! What the hell! Sensei? Get off of me!"

_'Ah... I must've exhausted myself using the Sharingan. Damn. Sorry Naruto.'_

"Sensei...? Sensei? Sensei!"

* * *

"Hmmm... first I'll remove the wrappings around the mouth and then-"

A hand reached out and grabbed the scissors before they could come near him. "Enough. I'll do it myself." Grabbing the senbon, he roughly pulled it out, causing a spray of blood.

"Awake already, Zabuza-sama? You should be a bit more gentle. You might actually kill yourself if you do it wrong," Haku gently reprimanded.

"Yeah yeah. I've done this how many times already? You keep using me as your pin cushion." Zabuza rolled his eyes at his disciple. Innocent though he may seem, he could be a sadistic bastard if he wished. "It didn't have to be in the neck you know, anywhere else would have done the job."

"Hmmm... But the rest are so muscular! I didn't want to mar your perfect body, Zabuza-sama."

"And now you sound like a pervert."

The boy chuckled. "Whatever you say, Zabuza-sama."

"Take off that mask. Its creepy."

"Hai. I apologize. It's become a bit of a habit... Will you be prepared for next time...?" The mask was removed, revealing a feminine face.

"Next time, I'll break Sharingan's illusion."

He smiled. "Of course you will. You're Zabuza-sama after all."

"Sometimes... I think you idolize me a bit too much, kid."

* * *

**AN:** You know.. I realize now that I should've just put this with the last chapter. (sighs) oh well... Definitely shorter than I'd been aiming but... well... yeah... I couldn't help leaving a slight cliffy in the last chapter though! It was perfect! XDD I guess I'm working my way up again in terms of chapter length... And is it just me or does Naruto seem to interrupt people a lot when they're talking... (rolls eyes)

But anyways... I know I promised to add more romance and humor... but it doesn't seem to be making its way in there does it... My stories don't listen to my intentions... (pouts) Well hope you enjoyed it anyway.

**Q:** **Why isn't Kyuubi healing Naruto?**

**A:** _Well... I've noticed that Kyuubi tends to heal flesh wounds like a hole in the chest and cuts and shit like that. Nothing about poison. Then again... I'm also sort of doing that in this... meh. You'll see in next question!_

**Q: Alright, what the hell is going on with the whole blood and Kyuubi and all that shit! **(Note: I created this question myself since people probably didn't get it and I'm not explaining in the story...)

**A: **_Okay so... Kyuubi is... healing... i guess in a way... Naruto. How? By gather the poison affected blood when Naruto isn't moving and making her spit it out. However, poison moves around in the blood faster if you move so... Kyuubi can't do gathering when Naruto's moving, thus the worsening with the whole blurring and cramping body and all that good stuff. I don't know if it makes sense... but I'm just using creative license... alright...?_

In any case... Hope you enjoyed it. Please R/R! Hopefully, some more comedy and romance shall be in the next chapter...! (winks)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary**: For her, she'd be willing to do anything... even give up her femininity. She'd be willing to be a guy... no matter what. All for her... Too bad Sasuke won't leave her be.

**Disclaimer**: (gasp!) Really! You think I own Naruto! Why thank you... So does this mean that Sasuke isn't a jackass anymore? That Naruto and Sasuke are /bleep bleep bleep/? That Itachi never died? What? No? This never happened? Then why do you think that I own Naruto? Way to get my hopes up! (pouts)

**Warnings**: Fem!Naru... and... certain perverted, suggestive dreams...? a girl on her monthly...? O.o Just what the hell is going on in this chapter...?

**AN**: Mwahahahahahaha! This is the chapter that I've been waiting to write for soooo long! (Giggles) There are certain portions of every arc that I've been dying to write. This just happens to be one of them... So, please, enjoy!

minor editing: 08.05.10

* * *

**No Matter What**

_Chapter 8  
_

_Giggling rang throughout the air..._

_"Oh, Kakashi-san, you bad boy, you!" a beautiful girl with an extremely large bust giggled, blushing prettily. "Follow me if you can! There's a _reward_ at the end..." With a suggestive wink, she ran away and her clothing (which didn't cover much anyways) disappeared. As he followed after her, Kakashi let his eyes roam about the corridor, sighting certain... pictures... that would cause a _lesser_ man to have passed out by now._

_Finally, he reached the end and stopped running. Grasping the door open, not even thinking to wonder where it appeared from, Kakashi stared in awe at the site before him. Naked girls were making out with other naked girls and some were even... /cough/ Well... Let's just say, it was something that would've succeeded in making even the gay turned on... in other words... it was a mass orgy.  
_

_"Oh Kakashi!" All their voices rang out, beckoning him to come towards them... Breasts were shoved up and forward and he was reminded of that scene in Icha Icha where Mariko-chan and-_

_"Oooooh... Sensei!" Huh. How strange... He was suddenly naked... "You have-"_

"Is that... blood seeping through his mask...?"

_"He he he..." Perverted giggles came from-_

"Ssssssh! Shut up dobe! Don't you want to...?"

_Why did he suddenly feel as if something dangerous was about to happen...? Oh well, it didn't matter. Not with - Michiko? Iruko? Sachiko? - slowly lowering-_

"Both of you are too loud. You'll wake him up before we even get near it!"

_Something was wrong. He could feel it... not to mention hear it... damn... but he _really_ didn't want to leave this place!_

"But I don't wanna touch it! I mean, that's gotta be blood from the _nose!_ The pervert!"

_"Kakashi-sama... Are you alright?" He looked down at the large breasted brunette before him. "If you're not, I'm sure I could... attend... to you..." she purred..._

"Dobe... shut up..."

_He grinned lecherously. "And what sort of_... _treatment... would this be...?"_

_Breast were pressed against him. "This kind..." Her husky tone made shivers go up his spine... The good kind of course...  
_

"Carefully now... closer... closer..."

_"Nnnn."_

"Dammit! I know! You're just making me more nervous!"

_Fuck. How he hated these brats sometimes... _He opened his eyes and met three other pairs that were slowly getting closer and closer... "Boo."

"AAAAAAAAH!"

"HHIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!"

"HN!"

Kakashi deadpanned. His beautiful dream was interrupted for this...?

"... Oi, teme... Did you just 'hn' to express your fear...?"

"Uchiha's do not feel _fear..._" The snooty tone made her grit her teeth.

"Man honestly... What is-"

"Naruto! Have some respect for Sasuke-kun! He's much-"

"But he went 'Hn' when Kakashi-sensei opened... his... eyes... Kakashi-sensei! You're awake!"

Kakashi rolled his eyes. About time it finally kicked in. "Yo. And just what do you think you three were doing as I was sleeping...?" He raised an eyebrow. The three gulped.

"Oh.. er... Well... you see..."

"Uhmmm... I... I... I've got to help Tsunami-san! Ha ha! Er bye!" Sakura hightailed it out of there, leaving her teammates to stare at her in horrified betrayal.

"Did she just..."

"Leave us to our doom...?"

Kakashi smiled sadistically at the two remaining genin. "You know... you interrupted a _very_ enjoyable dream..."

"Nah. Really?" Naruto retorted sarcastically. "I mean, we couldn't see that from the blood seeping through your mask. It looks purple now, you know..."

His eyes glinted, making the two gulp.

"You couldn't just keep you mouth closed for once, could you, dobe?"

"Well, he was stating the obvious!"

"But-"

"Now, now you two," he tsked. "It's not very nice to ignore your sensei after you've woken him, now is it?" The two stared at him with wide eyes. Just what the hell was he going to do to them...? He grinned and the two genins felt their hearts stop for a brief moment in time. "So-"

Just then the door slammed open causing the three inhabitants to snap their heads towards the entrance and forget their current topic. "Ah, sensei! You're awake!" Tsunami walked into the room carrying a tray adorned with food. "Sakura had said you were but I wasn't really sure. The poor thing looked like she had just managed to escape death. You wouldn't happen to know what happened,would you...?"

Kakashi grinned cheerfully while Sasuke and Naruto eyed him warily. "Nope! Not a clue!"

Tsunami raised an eyebrow and put a hand on her hip, carefully balancing the tray. "If you say so... Now! Sensei! Are you alright?"

Kakashi sheepishly replied, "Not really. But I will be in about a week. Now, I'm guessing you're Tazuna's daughter?"

"Ah. Hai." Tsunami bowed down in greeting, even as she placed the array of food within easy reach. "I'm Tsunami. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Sakura peeked her head in. "AH!" Naruto pointed at her accusingly. "Sakura-chaaaan! You left us here to deal with the devil!" she whined.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I did not! I really _did_ have to help Tsunami-san!"

Naruto turned around and pouted, grumbling. "Ah! Ne, sensei! You were talking about hunter nin before you fainted! Can you explain a bit more on that...?" Naruto eyed her Kakashi eagerly. Maybe... Maybe he'd tell them some secret to be ultra strong? Then she'd be able to protect Sakura-chan even better!

"I did not faint!" Kakashi pouted. "But anyways... Hunter nin are elite shinobi who are sent to hunt down missing nin. They are to kill them and dispose of their bodies. Because shinobi bodies hold many secrets, the disposing process is necessary in order to contain a villages secrets."

"Wait, so Zabuza is going to be dismembered and destroyed? Ugh! How creepy!" Sakura exclaimed with a shudder.

Kakashi chuckled. "Well, Hunter nin involved in the disposing process destroy the body on the... site... where... they... were... killed..." Kakashi's eyes widened.

Sakura tilted her head. "Eh? But... That nin back there took Zabuza away!"

Kakashi closed his eyes and leaned back to hold in a groan of frustration. "Shit... Zabuza is most likely alive."

The genin gaped. "EEEEEEH? But Kakashi-sensei! You checked to make sure he was dead didn't you?"

"I did... But the weapon he used to kill... They were senbon. If used right, they can be deadly but if they don't hit a vital point, the mortality rate is surprisingly low. It's also possible to create a death-like trance. It's likely that the hunter nin was an accomplice of Zabuza and used this technique to trick us into believing that Zabuza had been killed."

"W-what are we going to do then, Sensei?" Sakura couldn't help but stutter.

Kakashi smiled. "Why, you'll train of course!"

"But Kakashi-sensei! What sort of training are we going to do that'll make us that strong so soon! Zabuza almost defeated you!" Sakura protested. **"Hell yeah! Are you trying to get us killed?"**

"But when I was captured, who was it that rescued me?" Kakashi posed. "All three of you are progressing rapidly. Especially you, Naruto. Though... you _do_ have a problem with keeping your mouth shut," he added as an afterthought."

_'Naruto...?' _Sakura eyed her as she beamed at the praise. _'I suppose...' _Her thoughts turned to that night and a concerned light appeared in her eyes. _'Naruto... what's going on with you...? Why were you coughing up blood that night...?'_

"How much time will we have to train...?" Sasuke asked, finally taking part into the discussion.

"An excellent question. Once a person has been placed into a near-death trance, it is quite some time before their body returns to its previous state of health and readiness. We should have about a week."

"Alright!" Naruto cheered. "So! So! What sort of awesome training exercise are we gonna do?" She learned forward in anticipation.

Kakashi giggled. "We'll be climbing trees!"

* * *

Naruto stared at the engravings on the tree in frustration. No matter how hard she tried she didn't seem to be getting it! Her only comfort was that Sasuke seemed to be having just as much trouble as her. But even so, he was _still_ doing better than her! How frustrating! Not only that but... she was getting dizzy again... She'd been doing so well lately! She hasn't been dizzy or coughing or even spazzing out!But now that she'd started training, she was getting disoriented once more!

She gritted her teeth as another wave hit her. Damn, which tree was it...? It was starting to scare her just a bit. What if... what if this meant she couldn't train anymore...? She shook her to rid herself of such thoughts. No. She _would_ do this! She _would not _fail!

She rushed up the tree once more, determination back in place, hand tightening around her kunai. She gained speed and... promptly ran into the tree. _'Ow... I could've sworn the tree was a few feet further...'_

Sakura eyed her with concern up in the tree tops. It was her fifth time reaching the top and she was getting a bit tired. "Naruto? Are you alright?"

Naruto grinned up at her. Well, near her anyways... "Yeah, Sakura-chan! I'm fine! Just a bit dizzy! That tree was sure hard!"

Sasuke scoffed. "Of course it was. It was a tree!"

Naruto huffed. "Shut up teme! What the hell do you know?"

"I am awesome and you are-"

"Did you just say you're awesome? Dude! Just how conceited are you?" Naruto laughed.

Sasuke stared at her. "Dobe... are you feeling alright?"

Naruto blinked. "Huh? Yeah. Why?" Naruto withheld herself from groaning. What the hell...? Was she that bad at hiding pain..?

"You said 'conceited'. I didn't know that you knew such a 'complex' word." He smirked at her when she growled at him. "Wanna be an Inuzuka now?"

Naruto gaped at him in horror. "Teme! Don't you _dare_ compare me to dogbreath! I do _not_ seem in any way similar to that! that! EW!"

Sakura giggled at their antics, knowing they were just goofing around a bit. Though... it did seem strange to describe any of the Uchiha's actions as "goofing around". "Oh I don't know, Naruto," Sakura called out. "You seem to growl a _lot_ like Kiba-kun!"

Naruto turned around at stared at her with dismay, jaw dropping just the slightest. "Sakura-chan! You traitor! You're supposed to side with me!"

Sakura laughed. "But I always side with Sasuke-kun, Naruto!"

Naruto whimpered, grumbling about the unfairness of it all. "Fine then! Be that way! You're all meanie butt faces!"

Her teammates sweatdropped. "Meanie butt faces"...? Grabbing her kunai (and making sure she knew where the tree was), Naruto rushed once more, seeing only the tree and using her anger to fuel her. She went up and up. Her teammates gaped at how high she went up. _'How did she go from there to there...?'_

Sakura watched in amazement... until Naruto tripped and fell backwards. "AAAAHH!" Luckily, Naruto managed to grab onto a branch with one hand. Looking down, she wanted to whimper. "Uh... you think someone could get me down from here...?" She laughed sheepishly, as she pulled herself up onto the branch and clutched on.

Sasuke stared up and snorted, looking away. "Just jump down."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "What'd you say teme?" In her anger, Naruto forgot where she was and let go of the branch. As she leaned forward, shaking her fist at Sasuke, she lost her balance and fell down... "FUUUUUUCK!"

It just so happened that in her luck, she managed to land squarely on Sasuke with a loud boom. Sakura's eyes widened. "Oh my god! Are you two okay? Sasuke-kun? Naruto?" No answer came and the dust had yet to clear up, so deciding that it would be best if she went to check to see what was up, Sakura, began her trek down.

When the dust finally cleared up and she could see once more, Sakura was on the ground and shocked at what she saw. "Narutooooo..." Her eyes gleamed evilly at the shocked pair still on the ground. "HOW DARE YOU KISS SASUKE-KUN!" With a roar, she grabbed Naruto by the back of her jacket and threw her. "Sasuke-kun! Are you alright."

He seemed to be in shock as he lifted his hand to his lips, a light blush adorning his face. None of this escaped Sakura's attention and a shred of jealously appeared before vanishing as she realized that she threw someone that was coughing up blood just a few nights ago. She paled. "Shit! Naruto! Are you okay?"

Naruto coughed a bit before looking up. "TEME! That's the third time! You pervert!"

This seemed to snap Sasuke out of his daze and he glared. "Pervert? _You_ were the one who landed on me!"

Naruto scoffed. "Yeah, but I bet you planned the whole thing! I know you like me and all that but I _just_ don't feel the same way!"

Sakura gaped at the drama unfolding before her. This was almost better than those soap operas she watched! Then again... _third time?_ There were two other times? Then... Sasuke was _honestly_ gay? A part of her had been hoping that it was all in her mind. **"NOOOOOOO!"**

"Dobe. Shut up! I do _not_ like you that way."

Sakura felt a small amount of hope upon hearing this before remembering the blush she had seen only moments before.

"Yeah right! Then why do you keep kissing me, huh?" Naruto glared at him.

"I did not kiss you! They were accidents!"

"So that one time in your apartment was an _accident?_ Is _that_ what your saying?"

Apartment...? They kissed in Sasuke-kun's apartment? Sakura's neck was getting a work out as she snapped her head from one teammate to the next.

"What? No! I mean- I don't know! You told me to kiss you!"

"No I didn't! You just randomly kissed me, you asshole!"

"Because you called me 'uke'!" he roared.

Sakura's eyes widened. Uke..? Did that mean that they've already... No! They're only twelve! She blushed. Besides, they've only kissed three times including today right? But... but... apartment... uke... kiss... a drop of blood dripped from her nose.

"Argh! I give up, you dumbass!" With a groan of frustration, Naruto turned away and ran towards the tree once more.

Sasuke punched a tree, making a loud bang resonate throughout the clearing. With a wince at the loud sound, Sakura cautiously approached the raven haired boy, putting aside her confusion. "Sasuke-kun...?"

"What?" Sasuke glared.

With a roll of her eyes, she responded. "Your knuckles are bleeding. You should treat that. Here give it to me. I have some bandages always on hand."

Grudgingly, Sasuke hand over his hand and accepted the treatment while staring at their blond teammate head up the tree. She was doing much better than before and much more cautiously than last time. His eyes narrowed as he realized that she was doing better than him... This wouldn't do.

"Ne, Sakura," he said reluctantly.

Her head snapped up. "Ah... Hai, Sasuke-kun! Am I hurting you?"

Sasuke tsked. "No. Do you have any... _advice_... for me...?" His eye twitched.

Sakura's eyes widened and she hid a small smile behind her hand. Her crush was asking for her help! She almost giggled. Even if she did have little to no chance, this was almost... nice... "Hmmm... advice...? _Well..._ I'd recommend that you concentrate on the tree and the tree only. I think that's what Naruto's also doing. Don't let anything distract and focus on just yourself and the tree." She smiled as she saw him give an almost imperceptible nod. With a satisfied smile, she gave a light pat on his hand and let him go.

"Hey Naruto!" she called out. Naruto stopped halfway up the tree and jumped off, landing on the ground.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan?" She seemed a bit calmer.

"I'm going to go back and eat. When you and Sasuke finish be sure to come back for dinner okay? I'll save some for you both if we finish!"

Naruto gave a grin and a nod before resuming her training. _'After all,' _she thought, glancing at Sasuke and his tree, _'he's catching up already. We can't have that can we...?'_

Sakura just shook her head and she started back towards Tazuna's house. God, she could feel her stomach rumbling. Stupid stamina freaks.

* * *

She couldn't help but laugh as she watched her teammates antics. Admittedly, she hadn't started off very well with them but now... she felt closer. She didn't feel as bad watching them. Even if they were gay and together, it wouldn't hurt her as much as it had before.

Yes, she still had feelings for Sasuke but.. well... she was beginning to realize that he was right back there in the woods. He _wasn't _going to be her prince in shining armor coming to save her. She felt a bit sad but she knew that she couldn't be like this forever. She'd have to grow up. And that was accepting that Sasuke didn't like her in that fashion. Maybe... Maybe they could be friends but... she didn't think they'd ever be... _together._

As for Naruto... Well... she wasn't really sure about how to feel about him. She was a bit worried to be truthful. She _knew_ that she saw him coughing blood back there that night but... other than that, Naruto didn't seem to show a whole lot of signs of being sick. She'd never seen any more blood after that night. She knew that Naruto wasn't okay and that something was wrong. You don't cough up blood for no reason and you don't recover that quickly. It had only been a few nights. She knew that Naruto was covering up his pain so that they wouldn't worry and she couldn't help but admire him for that. She also realized that Naruto was good at covering pain. It was so _easy_ to forget he was sick... and that worried her a bit. That just _couldn't_ be healthy. She sighed.

"Sakura-chan? Are you okay?" Sakura looked up and met the eyes of the one she was just contemplating. She smiled reassuringly at the blond.

"Hmmm. Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."

"Are you- Oi! Teme! That's cheating! You started before I did!" Naruto turned away and started to consume her food at an amazing pace once more. Sakura shook her head in amusement before a picture caught her eye.

"Ah... ano... I was wondering... why do you have a torn picture on the wall? It looks like someone was purposefully taken off of it."

Silence reigned for a moment before... "It was my husband..."

"... and the man called the hero of the city..." Tazuna finished. As he said that, Inari abruptly stood up and walked off, leaving his dinner unfinished.

"Inari!" Tsunami called after him. "Y-your dinner!"

"... I'm not hungry!"

"Hoi! You brat!" Naruto shouted angrily. "Is that anyway to talk to your mother?"

Inari glared at her. "Shut up! I don't like you nor do I want you here. So shut up! You're just going to die anyways!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Why you little-"

"Naruto. Calm down and eat your dinner." With an angry grumble, Naruto sat down in her seat, picking up her chopsticks once more.

Tazuna sighed. "I apologize. Inari... doesn't like to hear about him..."

"What... happened...?" Sakura couldn't help but ask, curious.

"Inari once had a father not related to him..."

Naruto walked off after they had heard the story of Wave's hero. "Ah? Naruto? Where are you going?"

Naruto didn't reply. "If your going out to train... I wouldn't recommend it. You could get chakra exhaustion and die," Kakashi warned.

Naruto was silent as she opened the door. "I won't die. I can't. I have something to prove after all!" She grinned cheekily at them and left. Sakura couldn't help but feel as though things would be alright. She smiled softly.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Ho? Is our dear Sakura-chan falling for Naruto?"

Sakura blushed. "EH?"

"Well, its just you were staring so lovingly after him!" He giggled pervertedly.

Sakura glared. "Impossible! I love only Sasuke-kun!"

* * *

_With Naruto..._

Rushing up the tree, Naruto was attacked by a certain pain in her stomach, making her lose her concentration. She fell to the ground with a loud thud but it didn't matter to her. Her focus was on her stomach. _'Shit! Why does it hurt so much! Shit...'_

She whimpered but no one was there to hear her.

_'Was it the food...? No. I don't think so... Is this.. chakra exhaustion? But I don't feel exhausted! Why... why does it hurt so much!'_

She clutched harder at her stomach before welcoming the blackness. _'Am I going to die...?'_

* * *

_The next morning..._

Haku hummed lightly as he collected the herbs need for Zabuza-sama. It was very... relaxing. Especially after that incident with Gatou. He still felt irritation creeping through him just thinking about it.

Feeling a bird land one him shoulder, he looked up and caught sight of orange in between some trees only a couple yards away. An orange that was _very_ familiar. He eyed it. _'It cannot be safe to wear something that stands out so much... especially for a shinobi.'_

He walked towards the sleeping figure, eyes narrowing the closer he got. It would be _so_ easy to kill him... His hand grew closer and closer to young genin's neck. Just a bit more and a squeeze...

Just then, the orange clad figure turned over mumbling words and smiling. "Sakura-chan... precious... person..."

Haku stopped and sighed, retrieving his arms. Zabuza-sama was right... he was too softhearted. He couldn't even kill one of their enemies...

Shaking his head lightly, he woke the konoha ninja up. "Wake up, shinobi-san. It's not good to sleep in a place like this. You'll catch a cold."

Naruto started awake and was surprised to see a pretty girl in front of her. She stared, mouth open slightly. Haku giggled upon seeing the face, making Naruto blush.

"Ah... who are you...?"

Haku smiled. "My name's Haku. And you are...?"

Naruto grinned. "Ah! I'm Uzu-" She stopped before going into a series of chest racking coughs. Worried, Haku moved forward, making soothing patterns on her back.

"Shhhh... shhh... it'll get better... ease up now..."

When the coughing subsided, Naruto's hand pulled away revealing blood... and lots of it. Haku's eyes widened. "Shinobi-san. Let me see that!"

"Eh?" Naruto started as Haku grabbed her hand and closely examined the blood on it. "Er... Haku-san?"

Haku looked up at Naruto sternly. "How long has this been going on?"

Blinking Naruto answered, "About three or four days... why?"

Haku frowned. _'Three or four days? This blood has poisoned! He should have died by now!' _His hand clenched around Naruto's. Dragging Naruto by the wrist, Haku headed toward her herb basket. Finally letting go, Haku looked through, searching for a specific plant until she found it. Turning towards Naruto, he shoved the plant into the shinobi's mouth. Glaring sternly, Haku ordered her to eat it.

Naruto chewed and swallowed, sweatdropping. _'Woman are scaring...' _Her face promptly turned green. "Ewww...! What was that stuff?"

Haku raised his eyebrow. "It fights poison."

Naruto paled. "... poison?"

"Hai. It seems your body has beening fighting it off somehow but I feel better with you eating it and treating it instead of relying on your body's way. You've probably lost some amount of blood already."

A bit weak Naruto fell to the ground. "... poison...?" she couldn't help but repeat.

Haku smiled gently at the genin. "You'll be fine now so don't worry."

Naruto weakly returned the smile. "Ah... what were you doing here anyway...?"

"Hmmm...? Oh. I was gathering herbs."

"Do you need some help?"

"Sure!"

* * *

"Ne... Where's Naruto?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi just hummed. "Probably still out there in the forest. He didn't come back last night."

"Eh?" Sakura began to worry. Didn't come back last night? What if... her mind flashed back to Naruto coughing up blood. "Kakashi-sensei! We should-"

"Sakura, you'll be guarding Tazuna today."

"Eh? But... What about Naruto?"

"Sasuke can look for him. Right?" Kakashi smiled at the eating boy. Sasuke looked, eyes narrowing.

"Naruto's being a bitch."

"Huh...?"

"He keeps snapping at me..."

"Ah. So?" Kakashi smiled. Revenge was soooooo sweet.

"Hn."

"Perfect."

* * *

"So... Naruto-san was it?"

"Hai!"

"Why were _you_ in the forest...?"

Naruto crawled around, looking for the specific plant that Haku had shown her earlier. "Hmm... I was training!"

"Training? Why? You seem strong enough already..."

Naruto hummed happily. "Yeah, but I need to get stronger!"

"And why's that?"

"So that I can protect my precious people!"

Haku smiled softly to himself as he picked up another herb. He turned around to look at the shinobi behind him and froze in shock. "N-Naruto-san..."

"Hmm?" Cheerfully, Naruto turned around and tilted her head at the site of her new friend pointing shakily at her. "What's wrong Haku-san?"

"You... your... a girl...?"

Naruto dropped the herbs in her hands, eyes going wide. "WHAT?"

"You're... bleeding down there," Haku explained blushing a bit. He was a guy! Yes, he knew all this but still! It was embarrassing!

Naruto tilted her head. "Down there...? What do you mean? And what does this have to do with being a girl...?"

Haku stared at her in horror. You have _got _to be kidding... He had to explain... _that? _He wanted to whimper. "Naruto-san.. do you know... the birds and the bees?"

"Birds and the bees? What do you mean..?" Naruto asked, clueless.

Haku wanted to whimper. "The sword and the sheath?" he tried.

"Eh...?" Her head tilted the other way.

"Ah..." Haku wanted to cry. He wasn't meant to explain this! "Well... you see... Naruto-san... When a man and woman love each other very much..."

"EEEEEEEEEHHHHHH?" The exclamation rang throughout the forest, scaring quite a few birds. Weeks later, there would still be rumors about the disasters caused by it. The superstitious folk would believe a ghost was haunting the forest and taking revenge upon them.

"Gross! Are you- you're lying!" Naruto cried out, slightly hysterical.

Haku wanted to laugh a bit. "Ahaha... I'm afraid not, Naruto-san."

"Wait, wait, wait! So... when people have sex... they... Babies come from there?"

"... Hai..." Haku blushed even deeper.

"... I... So... those people in the alleyways I saw as a kid... they were trying to have a baby...?"

"... alleyways...?" The ice user tilted his head in puzzlement. "You... saw people having sex in alleyways?"

Naruto coughed before shaking her head, eyes steadily avoiding her new friend's questioning gaze. "Just answer the question!"

"Erm... well... Not all people have sex to... make... babies," Haku murmured, rubbing his face with his hand. Would this embarrassment ever end?

Miraculously, Naruto still managed to hear him. "... Oh." Frowing slightly, she looked down at herself. "How does that big head _fit_ through there...?" she wondered out loud.

Haku looked up, startled, thinking she was actually asking him. "I... I don't know! I'm a guy!"

"Huh?"

He blushed deeper than humanly thought possible. He wanted to die now... "Nevermind."

"Wait.. so... I'm going to have to... _bleed_... every month? _Down there?_" Naruto exclaimed, hissing out the word "bleed" even though no one other that Naruto and Haku was nearby.

"Hai..."

Naruto whimpered. How... how...

"Actually... You're bleeding... down there... right now..."

Naruto suceeded in pulling off a horrified beyond horrifed face. "EH? What... what do I do?" She wanted to wail hysterically. She wasn't ready for this!

Haku wanted to join her. "I.. I guess you'll have to go to the village and buy the necessary items...?"

Naruto felt tears forming in her eyes. "H-haku-san! You'll come with me right? I... I can't do this by myself!"

He stared at the blond who was currently giving him puppy eyes. He felt his resistance waver. "I... I must really get these back..."

"Hakuuuu-saaaaaaan!" The puppy eyes increased in strength.

"But... But..." Haku sighed. "As you wished." _'I'm sorry Zabuza-san. You'll have to wait for a while longer...'_

"Thank you!" Naruto beamed at him, taking his hand in hers. "Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!"

"Ah ha ha...!"

* * *

"Oh how sweet you are!" The old lady laughed. "Accompanying your girlfriend while she buys these!"

"Ah... no..." Naruto scratched her head sheepishly, sweatdropping. _'But these are for myself... and Haku's not my girlfriend!'_

"It's nice to see nice men such as yourself in these times..." the old lady sighed, glancing around the market. "Everyone needs clothing and womanly items and so I'm getting by but..." She sighed once more.

Naruto gazed around at the poverty that permeated the air sadly. As she saw more and more, she felt her resolve to defeat Zabuza rise above into a goal in defeating Gatou. To destroy him and make sure this will never happen again. Her fists clenched.

"Naruto-san. Wear this." Haku tossed a dress at him. Naruto's eyes widened as she stared at it.

"W-wait! What?" She stared incredulously at her shopping companion.

"Well... you can't expect me to let you wear blood covered clothing, can you?" Haku raised an eyebrow and the crossdressing female.

"But why not a shirt or some pants?" Naruto whined. "Why a dress!"

Haku smirked. She made him come here and face all this embarrassment so she shall suffer! "Are you or are you not a girl? Or are you too cowardly to wear it...?"

Naruto wanted to whimper as she stared at the dress in horror. She hadn't worn girly clothes in... why... since she'd decided to be a boy! "Ma'am... where's your dressing room...?" she whispered pathetically.

The shop keeper blinked. "Eh? Ah, right there. Are you dressing up as a girl for you girlfriend?" The woman chuckled. "How cute. Ah well, the dressing room is over there."

Haku raised an eyebrow upon hearing the woman call him Naruto's girlfriend. She smiled. How amusing. He was the male and Naruto the female, so even if they were to go out, it would've been the other way around... Hmmm...

"Ah... I'd like to buy these items, please." Haku smiled pleasingly, masterfully hiding the blush that was threatening to come out.

"Of course." After paying the money Naruto had so graciously given him (note the sarcasm) so that he may buy her the necessities, Haku walked over to the area the woman had pointed Naruto to. Grabbing some underwear and a tampon box (she'd bought a few _packs_. They were a two for one pack deal), Haku tossed the items over the screen. "Here. Put these on," Haku whispered.

Grabbing the items, Naruto began to freak out. "Haku! How do you put this thing on?"

Haku felt his cheeks light up like Rudolph. "Read the instructions!"

Naruto did as commanded and felt her eyes go wide. "I HAVE TO _WHAT_?"

Haku felt himself groan as he noticed the stares the loud exclamation attracted. "Ha ha... nothing to see here..." he told them, sweatdropping and waving his hand in front of him. "Nothing to see here... Just do it!" he whispered the last part to Naruto.

"But.. what if.. what if it gets stuck!" Naruto quietly wailed. "Haku! Come in here and help me!"

Haku paled. Oh no... He'd done enough... He was _not_ going in there.. and... blood... and... NO! "NO! I... NO Naruto! I won't! Do it yourself!"

"But-"

"NO!"

Naruto looked down at the items in hand and with a whimper, did exactly as the instructions said. She winced. Putting on her underwear, she put on the dress Haku had told her to put on. Carrying the items and hiding the tampon box in her clothing, Naruto shuffled out.

"I don't like wearing this..." she pouted.

"Which this...?" Haku asked lifting an eyebrow and looking at her scrutinizingly. The dress fit her perfectly "The dress or the-"

"Both."

"Ah. Why the dress...?"

"It's too breezy..."

"I see... well... go back! I'll bring more clothes for you to try on. I'm sure we'll find a dress you like." Naruto shuffled back, pouting slightly. She didn't _want _to wear a dress...

After much badgering and _many, many, many_ dresses, they finally decided on a set of clothing much to Naruto and Haku's relief. Naruto was now wearing a black skirt over dark blue jeans and a black jacket over an orange tank top (Naruto refused to _not_ wear orange). Haku had even managed to get her to wear a hair pin.

They walked back to the forest just in time to miss a certain bridge builder and pink-haired genin, Naruto grumbling all the while. "I can't believe you made me wear this skirt! Why can't I just wear the jeans without the skirt?"

Haku rolled his eyes. "You're a girl. I just wanted to see you wear something girly."

"EH? Does this mean I can take it off?"

"No."

"EH? But-"

"No."

"But-"

"Again. No. My answers not changing."

Naruto pouted. "Alright. Ah! We're here."

Haku smiled gently at the girl. He had grown... _fond_... of her during the time they spent together. Even if she _was_ an idiot at times. "I guess I'll have to go now..."

"Eh? But... but..."

"I'm sure we'll meet again." Haku smiled. Yes... they would... but it would be as enemies...

"I.. I... I'll miss you until then!" Naruto huffed, nodding to herself. Haku laughed at the site as she turned around and head back. Zabuza-sama needed her.

"Oh... and Naruto-san?"

"Hmm?" Naruto stopped nodding and tilted her head. "What is it, Haku?"

Haku smiled lightly to himself. How he loved doing this... "I'm a boy."

Naruto froze for a moment as it processed. "EH? You're a boy? Then why'd you act so surprised about me being a- AH! YOU'RE A BOY! That means...!" Naruto blushed to her roots. She'd asked... him... to... Oh god!

Haku's laughter rang throughout the forest.

Sasuke passed by the laughing crossdresser and stared with a raised eyebrow. Wonder what she's laughing at. Now... where was that dobe...?

He walked a little further and stopped. He'd found the dobe but...

"Naruto? Are you wearing girl's clothing?" Sasuke gaped. She actually... looked... _pretty_. His brain sputtered. Did he say _pretty_? In regards to Naruto?

"Eh? Sasuke? What's up?" Naruto tilted her head.

I mean, yeah. He'd always _known_ she was a girl but in a way, he'd almost... forgotten... after a while. But...

"Oi... Teme..."

She looked _nice_ dressed as a girl.

"Teme... are you... are you blushing?"

Sasuke stared. Blushing...? "Of course not!"

Naruto laughed. "Oh my god! You're blushing!"

Sasuke scowled. "Shut up. Why are you wearing a skirt over jeans anyway?"

"I'm still not sure..." Naruto scratched her head.

"Can't you just wear jeans by itself...?"

"I know! That's what I said!"

"Where'd you get the clothes anyway? Why aren't you wearing your regular clothing?"

Naruto blushed, much to Sasuke's confusion, as the conversation with Haku and all the stuff that came _after_ flashed through her head... "Shut up. Why are you here anyways...?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Kakashi wanted me to get you."

"Okay... carry my stuff though will you?"

Sasuke raised his eyebrow. Stuff? He looked down beside his teammate and caught site of the bags. "Why should I-"

He stopped seeing his teammate had already walked off. Rolling his eyes he picked up the bags and followed. Just what the hell was he carrying anyway...? Deciding to take a peak, he looked inside, spotting an open pack of boxes. Tam... pax...? Just what the hell was that...? Deciding it was best he didn't know, he looked away.

* * *

"You were late, Haku."

"Ah... ha ha... about that..."

A corner of Zabuza's mouth lifted. "Yes...? Go on..."

"It involved the birds and the bees-"

"What? You lost your virginity?" Zabuza exclaimed, eyes wide, as he shot up into an upright position. "To _who?_ I'll kill that little bitch!"

"Ah... no, Zabuza-sama. I had to _explain_ the birds and the bees..." Haku blushed.

"Ex... plain...?" Zabuza stared at his disciple, trying to figure out if he was lying or not. Find no trace of deceit, he burst out into laughter, grasping his stomach as tears formed in his eyes. "Ex... plaining... birds... bees...!"

When he finally calmed down, Zabuza stared at Haku amusedly, lips twitching. "Well...? Go on..."

Pouting, Haku looked away. "I don't want to!"

Zabuza rolled his eyes. "Haku..." he warned.

Haku slouched. "It also involved tampons and shopping for feminine items... and a cross dresser..."

Zabuza stared, tilting his head... "Do I really want to know just what happened...?"

"Probably not." _'You'd laugh too much,' _Haku added silently. _'Gomen Zabuza-sama but... it's too embarrassing!'_

* * *

**AN**: (giggles) Yes... I _did_ make Haku give Naruto _the talk_. What was really creepy was that my brother turned on the TV and it was a show that was currently explaining when you should give the talk to your kid. O.o coincidence or _what_? I feel a bit bad for Haku though... she asked him to help her put a tampon on! XD But anyways... I hope you enjoyed it. I was planning on putting the whole fighting thing in this chapter too but decided it was getting too long. Not all that much romance... (barely even there at all) but what ever. Blame the music. It wasn't romantic (while writing this, I was listening to upbeat kind).

**Q: Naruto suddenly stopped coughing up blood?  
**

**A:**_ No... She's still coughing up blood... it just usually occurs when she's not moving too much and it's occurring less and less often... Well... actually, after this chapter... no more blood coughing._

**Q: How does Naruto know what a pervert is if she doesn't even know the birds and the bees...?** (another self made question)

**A: **_Weeeell... You see... As far as she was aware... guys were considered perverts if they either (1) read a certain orange book series... (2) stared at a women's chest or butt too long... (3) got a nose bleed from staring at women... (4) peeked on the women's side of the bath house... (5) stared at a naked girl or even looked... (6) Well... you see where its going... :)_

R/R! I look forward to your thoughts! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! This chapter is my christmas present to you all! Which is why I'm posting at midnight!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary**: For her, she'd be willing to do anything... even give up her femininity. She'd be willing to be a guy... no matter what. All for her... Too bad Sasuke won't leave her be.

**Disclaimer**: Na... ru... to...? Isn't that about a _boy_ that wants to be Hokage? But... this is about a _girl_ that is crossdressing to increase the self-esteem of a another girl. How does _that_ equal to _me_ owning the Naruto series? In other words? It's not mine.

**AN**: Ah ha ha... Yeah... I know... I'm a week late... even though last week was during my winter break... (wince) heh heh... what can I say? I was enjoying the last days before torture...? XD And guess what people! I'm _probably_ not going to update next week either! It's _finals_ week! Then again.... I might be able to write on that Friday... there's no school. :) So! If you get a chapter that week, be thankful please! And as for why this is being uploaded so late... Hahahaha! Half of it was accidentally erased! (cries) Well.... enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**No Matter What**

_Chapter 9_

_"Brother... This is unacceptable..."_

_"I know..."_

_"Brother... I want to hear their screams..."_

_"I know..."_

_"Brother..."_

_"I know... Just wait... the time will present itself. First, the pink one. Then the blond. And then, the raven. And then... the adults..."_

_"Their screams shall be beautiful..."  
_

The Demon Brothers had escaped.

* * *

"In celebration.... for the _almost _completion of the bridge!" Tazuna cried, having drunk just a _little_ too much. "Come on, brats! Lift up your drinks!"

Naruto deadpanned at him. "You're drunk, old man. And who the hell are you calling brats?" She scowled.

Tazuna just laughed merrily, still gesturing for the group to clink their glasses together. "Stop scowling, _brat_! Have some fun! You're done training and shall be protecting the great _me!_"

Naruto just shook her head and, with a roll of her eyes, joined in on the cheer. "Kanpai!"

"Kanpai!"

"Kanpai."

"Hn."

Kakashi just stared at the glasses before raising his eyebrow. "It's no fun unless you're drunk," he stated before he turned back to his infamous orange book. He giggled pervertedly, causing his students to shake their heads at him in exasperation.

Inari stared at the small party going on before him with scornful eyes. How can they... How could they be _cheering?!_ They were just going to _die_, so why were they trying so _hard_? It was hopeless for them to win against Gato! He should know! His da-.... His fa-.... _He_ died trying to be a _hero!_ There are no such things as _heroes! _So...

"Why..."

Hearing the hoarse voice croaking out the word, Naruto turned her head towards the doorway, spotting the little boy glaring angrily at them. She raised an eyebrow. Wasn't the gaki supposed to be asleep...?

"Why...." His eyes started to tear up. "WHY, DAMMIT! WHY DO YOU TRY SO HARD?!"

His cries finally caught the attention of the whole room. Naruto's eyes narrowed. What the hell did this brat think he was-

Fists clenched and tears finally pouring, he continued. "You're just going to die anyways! Why are you still here?! Why the _hell_ are you trying so hard?! You'll never beat Gato and his men! Against the strong, the weak will just _die!_ And you're all _weak!_"

Slamming her hands on the table, Naruto stood up, lips curling in disgust. "And I suppose you're _not_...?" she sarcastically interrupted. "I suppose it's better to just _leave_ a whole country to _die_?"

Inari glared between tears. "You don't know _anything_ about this country and yet you're so nosy!"

"Inari!" Tsunami cried out, finally having caught her wits. "Apolo-"

"Shut the fuck up! I know that this country needs _help_ and that Gato is trying to kill your grandfather! I know that there are_ strong _people out there that were hired to kill Tazuna! I know that without _us_ he'd be _dead!_ And I know that you're just a bratty little crybaby!" she snarled, having had enough of the disrespect.

"Shut up! You don't know anything about me! You don't know tragedy-"

She laughed harshly before peering down at him. "Don't kid yourself _brat_." The disgust in her voice was almost palpable. "At least what we're doing is better than _crying_ all day like a little sissy! Go on! Cry! CRY CRY CRY! Forever and ever and ever! I'll help you if you want!" Her lips curled into a smile filled with painful promises.

Eyes wide, Inari stared at the girl with a healthy dose of fear. "I... I..."

Sakura stood up determinedly. "Naruto! That's-"

"I know," she interrupted, teeth clenched and fists curled tightly. "I know!" Breathing deeply, she walked out of the house and into the forest, the door slamming behind her.

* * *

Kakashi walked behind the crouching boy, purposefully making certain noises so he'd know he was there. "Can I join you?" he asked, already seating himself. After all, it's not like the kid could _do_ anything to stop him. It was just a formality to ask.

Silence reigned for a moment before Kakashi started to talk. "You know... Naruto probably didn't mean half the things he said."

Inari continued to stare out into the field.

"We were told about your father..." Seeing no reaction, Kakashi continued. "Like you, Naruto's never had a father."

This caught Inari's attention, though he tried to hide it. "In fact, he's never had a mother either. _Or _a friend. Truth is... He's had a rougher past then you."

Inari was silent for a moment, mulling over the things he'd learned. "What's this got to do with me...?"

Kakashi chuckled the slightest bit. "Ah. I was getting to that. Naruto... Despite the fact that he's had a harsher past than many... I've never seen him cry or whine _once._ He just keeps smiling and going, never showing any pain. He knows the true meaning of strength, just like your father did."

Inari was silent and Kakashi smiled. "I'm sure he doesn't mean to be mean. He cares." That said, Kakashi stood up and left with an order for him to go to bed.

Moments later, Inari did as ordered with a small smile on his face.

Seeing the boy disappear behind the door, Kakashi reappeared and smiled. "Sasuke. You can come out now."

Frowning, the Uchiha jumped down from his hiding place on the roof. "Hn."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Is that you're way of saying sorry? You should improve on your social skills."

Sasuke scowled. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "It doesn't matter. It's not like you heard anything you weren't supposed to or that you didn't know."

Sasuke paused for a moment, hesitating before continuing. "Kakashi..."

The sharingan wielder lifted an eyebrow, spotting the hesitancy. This should prove to be interesting. "Hai?"

"What are.... Tampax...?"

Kakashi's eyes had widened. Wah-? "Where is this coming from...?"

Sasuke's brows furrowed. "Naruto had some."

His sensei paused for a moment before nodding. "That explains the harsh words. It was harsher than what we'd normally hear from her."

The Uchiha tilted his head. "What? I don't get it."

"Er... Just go find Naruto for me will you...? I'll explain later." _'.... Much later.'_

* * *

"That! Fucking! Little! _Brat!_" she shouted to the forest, emphasizing each word with a harsh punch to the tree. Every time the fist made contact with the tree trunk, a resounding thud rang throughout the clear. "Who! The! Fuck! Does! He! Think! He! Is!"

"Punching the tree isn't going to make him stop being a brat." Sasuke jumped down from his perch on the tree. "Come on dobe. Let's go. We have work tomorrow."

The cross dresser glared at the raven haired boy. "Fuck you! If I want to punch my fists into a bloody mess, I'll do so!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "How vulgar. Anyways, Kakashi told me to bring you home. I'm not going back without you."

She snorted. "As if that changes anything. Just don't get in the way."

Getting comfortable, Sasuke leaned back and watched as the girl punched the tree over and over again. When she finally stopped, having worn herself out until she fainted, Sasuke shook his head and sighed, heading towards his teammate. Crouching down my the girl, he poked her cheek. "Oi... Oi! Dobe. Wake up!"

The girl rolled over and snored. He felt a vein throb and glared down at the sleeping body. "I bet you're enjoying this, aren't you?"

A stray hand hit his face. He kicked her. Somehow, ten minutes later, Sasuke found himself on the ground with his blond teammate on top of him, cuddling into his chest. He even felt some drool.

Blowing a stray hair from his face, he glared up at the moon. It was taunting him. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up!" Resting a hand on the blond's head, he shook his head. Oh well, it's not like it was _horrible_ or anything. He glanced at the girl and found himself unable to look away. In fact... this was almost... kind of... just maybe... sort of... _nice._

_

* * *

_

_Then Next Morning...._

"He won't be able to wake up for a while now. He seems exhausted so it's best to just let him sleep. Tell him to meet us at the bridge when he wakes."

Tsunami blinked. "Ah. Right. Sleep. Wake. Bridge. Got it!"

Kakashi smiled charmingly at the girl, making her blush. "Thank you, Tsunami-san."

Tazuna scowled. "Hurry up, sensei! Stop flirting with my daughter."

Flustered, Tsunami made to protest but Kakashi just chuckled. "Ah. You're right. We should head out."

The group, minus one blond jinchuuriki, headed out, not expecting the site that would meet them. Once they managed to reach the bridge, they were shocked by the bodies that lay on the ground. Staring in horror, Tazuna couldn't help but cry out, "W-what is this!"

Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he walked forward, crouching down beside one of the men. _'Could it be...'_

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura whispered, voiced trembling. "Are they... are they _dead?_"

Kakashi pressed two fingers to the neck of the person who lay in front of him and felt a pulse. "No, just knocked out."

"Tazuna..." a weak voice groaned from one of the workers that were closer to them. The bridge builder quickly rushed forth to support his employee.

"What is it? What happened?!" Tazuna asked, eyes drawn together in worry.

"A... monster..." was the only reply before he passed out once more.

Just then a thick mist began to form quickly around the bridge. Snapping onto into a defensive position, Kakashi shouted orders to his team. "Quickly! Around Tazuna! He's here!"

The genin jumped into their defensive formation around their client, tense, and with their kunais held before them. Sasuke's hand slowly began to shake as anticipation built up in him.

Zabuza's voice chuckled, hidden in the mist. "Kakashi. Long time no see. And you've brought your brats. But one of them's missing and another is already shaking. Poor him."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the taunt before the mist cleared revealing numerous clones already surrounding them. Hands clenching around his kunai, Sasuke grinned. "It's in anticipation, bastard." Barely waiting for an okay from his sensei, Sasuke burst forward and quickly disposed of the clones, leaving only two missing nin in front of them. Water splashed onto the ground.

Zabuza stared at his clones' remains impassively. "Ho? Impressive. They were only 1/10 of my strength but even still... impressive. It seems as though you've got a rival, Haku," Zabuza commented to the masked boy next to him.

"So it seems."

Kakashi gazed at hi opponents, eyes briefly resting on the youngest. "So it seems my suspicions were right, after all. He was Zabuza's accomplice."

Sasuke glared at the boy. "He's mine," he declared, much to Sakura's surprise. "I hate bastards like him, fooling us like that."

Sakura's eyes quickly gained hearts. "Kya! Sasuke-kun! You're so cool!" she cheered, much to Kakashi's chagrin. Yes, she knew that she and Sasuke-kun were never to be but still... He was still cool!

Zabuza chuckled. "Haku. He's yours."

Even as the words, "Hai, Zabuza-sama," left his mouth, Haku disappeared, appearing before Sasuke in the blink of an eye. Sasuke reacted quickly, bringing his hand upwards to meet his opponent. Kunai met senbon in a stalemate.

Kakashi observed silent before deciding that he'd be fine. "Sakura! Guard Tazuna," he ordered, startling Sakura out of her starstruck throughts. "Let Sasuke deal with him."

"Hai!" Sakura responded, crouching down into a defensive pose in front of Tazuna, kunai in front of her.

Haku stared at his raven haired opponent and couldn't help but wonder if he was one of those precious people that Naruto-san had briefly talked of on that day in the forest. He couldn't help it. "I don't want to kill you," he quietly stated, bringing his hand up into a hand sign. "I don't suppose you'll give up."

Sasuke smirked confidently. "In your dreams."

Sighing regretfully, Haku quickly moved his hand into a series of seals. "I see. It is too bad. You won't be able to keep up next time and plus, I have two advantages. One is that your hands are occupied. The other is that we're surrounded by water. You'll only be able to run now."

Sasuke's eyes widened upon seeing his hand move into one handed seals. _'What?'_

Upon hearing Haku's warning, Zabuza couldn't help but raise a nonexistent eyebrow. _'Didn't want to kill...? Is that true? What's going on Haku?'_

Then, water from the bridge began to rise, quickly forming a mob of needles that surrounded the duo, all pointed at Sasuke. When Haku finished the last seal, they all rushed forwards. Luckily, Sasuke managed to escape with only a few needles scraping his clothes. Haku lost track of the Uchiha in the confusion.

_'He's gone?!'_ Seeing shuriken tossed his way, Haku quickly jumped back. When the attacks stopped, he was surprised to feel a kunai at his back.

"You're pretty slow. From now on, you'll only be able to run from my attacks."

* * *

_Tazuna's house_

The floorboard creaked as two heavy pairs of feet stepped onto the porch. A feminine voice rang out. "Inari? Come help me with the dishes!"

"Okay, mom! Just give me a minute! I'm using the bathroom!"

Humming slightly, Tsunami turned back, picking up a dish just as the door slammed open. Two men stepped in, one shirtless and the other wearing a hat. "Are you Tazuna's daughter?" the one with the hat leered. "Quite a pretty thing aren't you?"

With a scream, Tsunami dropping the dish in her hands, shattering it on the floor.

Up on the floor above, Inari heard the noise and snapped his head up, eyes wide. Rushing down the stairs with a cry of "Mom!", he stopped seeing the two rounin stalking towards his mother. "What, kid?" one sneered.

"Inari!" Tsunami shouted, eyes wide. "Go! Run away! Don't come!"

The shirtless one raised an eyebrow before turning towards his partner. "Should we take him too?"

His partner just shrugged before replying. "We only need one hostage."

The bulky man grinned. "Then... should we kill him?" he suggested, sliding his sword out of his scabbard.

"Wait!" Tsunami cried. Glaring at the kidnappers, she snarled. "If you lay _one_ hand on that boy, I'll bite my tongue and kill myself. You want a hostage right?"

The two rounin snorted. "Thank your mom, kid. She just saved your life." Grabbing Tsunami by the arm, the two dragged her out the door.

"Damn, I wanted to kill something too!"

"Oh, shut up!"

By now, tears were pooring out Inari's eyes. _'I'm sorry, Mom! I'm just too weak! I can't do anything!' _Curling into a fetal position, Inari let out a wail before everyone's words rang in his mind. _"If something is precious to you... with these two arms... you must protect it!"_

Head snapping up, Inari stood up, suddenly filled with confidence. He rushed out the door screaming out "Wait!"

The two thugs turned towards him. "The kid?"

Meanwhile, back upstairs, our favorite blond heroine was roused awake by the commotion. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up. "Dammit! Who the hell is making all that noise?!" Leaning out the window, Naruto's eyes widened upon seeing the two thugs holding Tsunami hostage.

"Get... Get away from my mom!" Inari cried rushing forth, fists raised.

"Cut him."

Naruto stared at the thugs with swords and then back at the boy with a sweatdrop. With a roll of her eyes, she jumped from the window and landed on the two thugs, her feet meeting their faces. They were instantly knocked out.

She grinned at the shocked mother and child. "Sorry I'm a bit late but... I was sleeping...?" She laughed sheepishly.

"Na... Naruto-niisan!" Inari cried out.

"Yup! But... ne... Inari-chan. Great job... but I've got to tell you... don't rush at two big men with swords if all you have is a fist." She patted him on the head. "Oh. And sorry about yesterday."

"Huh?" Inari tilted his head.

Naruto rolled her eyes. "I was in a somewhat bad mood in the first place. You've gotten strong."

Tears began to form in Inari's eyes much to his frustration. "Damn it! I told myself I wasn't going to cry! You're going to call me a crybaby again!"

Naruto stared at the boy in amusement. "Huh? What are you talking about? Don't you know?" The boy looked up. "It's okay to cry when you're happy!" She grinned cheekily at him.

Tying up the two thugs, she clapped the dust off her hands. "Well, since they came here, there's probably trouble at the bridge. I gotta go!"

She rushed off before anyone could even tell her that she was still in her pajamas...

* * *

_At the bridge..._

Sakura was getting worried. Sasuke-kun was fighting some weird guy that controls ice and Kakashi-sensei was fighting Zabuza. She had _no_ clue as to _what_ was going on in this fog and yet... she kept hearing Sasuke-kun's grunts of pain! She gritted her teeth as another sharp hiss met her ears. _'Please get here soon, Naruto!' _she prayed.

"Psssst! Sakura-chan!"

Sakura yelped, eyes wide and turning to find her teammate beside her. "Naruto?!"

Blues eyes looked at her in concern. "Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?!"

Sakura sputtered for a moment. How... he... she just... Oh, Kami-sama! "Naruto! When did you get here?!"

Naruto stared at her, one eyebrow raised. "Er... just now....?"

Sakura shook her head to clear it of her thoughts. "Whatever! Now's not the time! Go help Sasuke-kun! Kakashi-sensei is dealing with Zabuza but Sasuke is stuck in this ice dome face off that masked boy! You have to help him, Naruto! I can't do it! i have to stay here and guard Tazuna!"

Naruto frowned at her in concern. "But... I don't feel safe leaving you behind."

Sakura scowled. "I'll be fine! Just go-"

"I know!" Naruto let out a grin, slamming her fist onto her palm. Making an increasingly familiar hand seal, Naruto let out a quiet cry of "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" With a poof, three kage bunshins appeared beside her. "They'll protect you!"

Sakura smiled, grateful for the thoughtfulness of her teammate. It'd be much easier now with three more people to protect Tazuna. "Arigato. But Naruto! Sa-"

Naruto rolled her eyes interrupting. "Yeah yeah. I know. The uke. Don't worry. He's probably doing just fine!"

Little did she know, Sasuke was having a hard time fighting.

_'Damn it!' _Sasuke silently cursed. _'Shit! Those senbon actually hurt!'_ He glared at the oppressing figure in the mirror with hate. He didn't even know if that was the real one! He clenched his teeth in frustration. _'He's getting slower too! But... that's useless if I don't have anymore energy!'_

The hand raised once more, getting ready to toss more senbon at the Uchiha. _'Calm down! Concentrate... and see through it!' _The images began to sharpen and he tensed preparing himself.

Haku watched the Uchiha calmly. He wouldn't last long. However, a flash of yellow caught his eye before he could throw. Naruto. His eyes widen as he realized who it was. No! He couldn't fight Naruto! He didn't want to have to kill her! Eyes narrowing, he took aim. Hopefully, this would stop the blond from coming any closer. It wouldn't kill... but it _would _temporarily paralyze. He threw.

Sasuke caught site of the senbon's trajectory but was confused. That was no where near him. Why... but then he noticed his blond teammate heading towards the dome. Eyes wide, he cursed and threw himself in the way. They hit him dead on.

"Teme!" Naruto cried out, catching site of the blue clad figure before her. "I'm here to save the day!"

Sasuke just shook his head and coughed slightly. Shit. He could feel his limbs getting heavier and heavier. This wasn't supposed to happen. "Dumbass.... don't die." Having told the dobe that, Sasuke welcomed the comforting darkness and fell forward.

Naruto's eyes widened as she caught the Uchiha, stepping into the dome. Laying him down, she shook him slightly. "Oi. Teme! Uke! Wake up! What's wrong!"

"He's dead." Haku's voice rang out, his voice belying any regret he felt. "He is a shinobi that deserves respect. Is this the first time you've lost a friend? This is the way of the shinobi." He raised a senbon, aiming at his... _friend_... once more. _'I'm sorry, Naruto-san. But this is the way it must be.'_

Naruto felt slightly cold as she stared at the Uchiha's body. That bastard... he wasn't supposed to die. What... what was she supposed to tell Sakura? But somehow... even Sakura didn't matter all that much... The teme.... he.... was dead...? She just... she just couldn't believe. Dammit! This wasn't supposed to happen! He was supposed to have been in trouble and she was supposed to have come in and saved his ass! DAMMIT! She felt tears well up in her eyes...

_'Fuck... you really screwed up, teme...'_ Her hands tightened around him and slowly, grief turned to rage. It was all _his_ fault. _He _killed Sasuke... She wouldn't forgive him... and then..... She saw red.

Literally.

Everything took on a red tint and she bared her teeth. Her nails elongated and sharpened into claws and her eyes transformed. Blue turned to red and round pupils became slits.

Haku's eyes widened. _'What... just what is this?!'_

Red chakra burst forth from the blond and for a moment in time, Haku _swore_ he saw it take the form of a fox. He watched with wide eyes as his clueless friend sent murderously killer intent at him. _'Naruto-san... just what are you...?'_

On the other side of the bridge, Kakashi's eyes widened. _'No! This chakra! It can't be...!'_ His eyes narrowed. He had to finish this... and soon...

Naruto rushed at the mirrors as Haku threw senbon at her. _'I have to get to the next mirror!'_ Haku frantically moved mirror to mirror, searching for a way to escape harm. But it was all in vain as Naruto's chakra suddenly lashed out, cracking each one, one by one, and shattering them.

Finally, Naruto rushed at him before he could move and threw a punch, hitting him directly in the face. He flew a few feet and his mask cracked as she rushed at him once more. Haku finally realized that... he couldn't defeat her. She was too strong. And he accepted it. He was now a broken tool. He had no use.

The last piece of the mask fell, and with it, any remaining hope that he might still be useful. Naruto threw another punch but stopped inches from his face.

Her eyes widened, slowly turning blue once more. "... Haku...?!"

Haku stared at the jinchuuriki with dead eyes. "What's wrong. Weren't you going to kill me? I killed your friend. Can't you kill me?"

Naruto felt a shiver go up her spine.... something... something was _wrong_ with that voice! She gazed back at her dead teammate. _Dead._ "Dammit!" In a flash of anger, she hit Haku in square in the face.

He fell to the ground and coughed up some blood. But despite that, he still continued to taunt her. "Is that all? What happened to all that intensity. You won't be able to kill me with just that!"

"Do you _want_ to die?!" Naruto shouted, anger skyrocketing. "Just what is _wrong_ with you?!"

"Zabuza-sama has no need for a useless shinobi. You've taken away reason to live."

Naruto's eyes widened. "You mean... That eyebrowless freak is all you live for?!"

Haku smiled sadly at the blond. "He gave me a reason to live. A hope of being useful to someone unwanted."

The blond was stricken now. He was... just like her. Unwanted. He continued.

"When he accepted me and acknowledged me... I was so _happy_. Naruto-san... please kill me."

Naruto's hands clenched. "...... **No.**"

Haku's eyes widened. "What...?"

She glared at the boy who had taught her about sexual reproduction. "HELL NO! If you want to be useful to Zabuza, then just get _stronger_, dumbass! It's not like you were immediately strong when you were a kid! I _doubt_ that Zabuza doesn't feel some sort of affection for you! Do you _want_ him to be sad?!"

Haku paused. Zabuza... sama... would be sad...?

"Dammit!" Naruto cursed. "That's it! I'm going over there!"

_chi-chi-chi..._

* * *

_With Sakura..._

"Ah! The fog! It's clearing!" Sakura cheered, stating the obvious. "Hey! There's two people over there! It... looks like they're talking! Wait... huh? Who's that over there?"

"Zabuza!" the voice rang out. Sakura blanched. Naruto? What was he doing calling over Zabuza...? But wait! If Naruto was over there... then... Sasuke must be...! Her eyes brighten considerably, even as the Naruto clones dispersed into puffs of smoke.

"Tazuna-san... you wouldn't mind... if we went over there to see Sasuke-kun... would you...?" Sakura tentatively asked.

Tazuan chuckled, shaking his head. "I don't mind. Let's go."

She smiled and skipped over there.

"Sasuke... kun....?" Sakura's eyes were wide and her hands started to shake slightly. She reached out to touch the motionless boy. "He's... cold. This isn't an illusion." Her voice sound oddly void of emotion and Tazuna looked away.

"Shinobi saying number 25... 'No matter what the situation... a shinobi must keep emotions on the inside." Tears began streaming down her cheeks, even as she continued with the same dull tone. "You must make the mission the priority and you must possess the heart that never shows the tears." Sobs finally began to escape her past her lips and Tazuna watched, his heart breaking with every cry that escaped.

_'So this is the shinobi way. It's so harsh....' _He looked on sadly, knowing there was nothing he could do.

"Sasuke-kun!"

* * *

_Naruto..._

"Oi! You asshole!" Naruto raged. "Just what kind of brainwashing did you do to Haku?!"

Kakashi was so surprised that he released the chidori. "...Naruto...?"

"Put some sense into him and tell him he's still some use! He thinks because I broke his mirrors he's deserves to die! What kind of guy is he? _I'm_ supposed to be the one with the bad luck! So why is _he_ trying to die?!"

Zabuza blinked. Why was... some blond brat in pajamas... _yelling_ at him. How dare he- "Wait... Haku... Wanted to _die..._ and you just _left_ him by himself?!"

Naruto stopped in the middle of her rant. "OH FUCK!" She turned around and promptly screamed upon finding the girly boy's face right behind her.

He looked at her hopefully, thoroughly freaking her out. Naruto met his big, shining eyes. "... Yes...?"

"Zabuza-san... would be sad...? So that means... He wants me...?" His eyes shone brighter.

Naruto stared, baffled, and moved aside. "Um... he's... right here... ask him?" Why was... the calm and collect Haku like this...?!

Zabuza stared at Haku and Haku stared back. Nothing happened for a while. Then both smiled. Well... Haku did and Zabuza just sort of grimaced....

Slow clapping rang throughout the bridge. "How touching." A short man wearing glasses and holding a cane stood at the unfinished end of the bridge with a large group of thugs behind him. "Zabuza."

"Gatou." Zabuza's voice was cold. "What are you doing here. What's with all the men?"

"The plan has changed," he crackled. "I never planned on paying you any money!"

Haku turned stiff beside her and Naruto felt some sort of chill emanating from him. She turned her head and felt a chill run up her spine. "Haku...?" she whispered.

Haku's face held a cold murderous look. He stepped forward. "Zabuza-sama."

"What's this?!" Gato laughed. "Is the pretty boy going to attack me?! Well, come on then! I owe you!"

"Zabuza-sama." He took another step forward.

Zabuza grinned. "Can't use my arms due to a certain _someone's_ little summons. Go ahead. Kakashi, guess we'll have to cut our battle short."

Kakashi just shrugged nonchalently, never taking his eyes off Gatou and his men as Haku raised her arms and aimed carefully. A second later, Gato dropped dead, senbon piercing through his vital points. The thugs blinked, staring at their dead employer. It took a long second for the sight and it's implications to seep into their thick skulls. They were mercenaries after all, not geniuses.

"DAMN NINJAS! YOU KILLED OUR MEAL!"

"HOW YOU GONNA PAY FOR THAT, HUH?!"

Angry, the thugs began to rush towards them. However, before they could get too far, an aroow stopped them. Turning around, Naruto saw the whole village lined up, ready for battle, Inari in the front wearing a pot and carrying a crossbow.

"Inari!" Naruto cried, smiling.

"Nii-san! I brought a weapon this time! It's not just my fists! See!"

"That's not what I meant, but... I can help out!" With a grin, Naruto formed her favorite handseal. "KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. _'I can do that...'_ Soon, five kage bunshin of Kakashi appeared. Faced with the odds against "elite ninja", and army of villagers, the Demon of the Mist and his apprentice, the thugs paled and scattered, pushing and shoving to jump off. Soon the bridge was empty and many people started to cheer.

"We did it!"

"Yeah!"

Unfortunately, the festivities didn't last long. A high pitched scream pierced the air. Naruto swung around towards the spot where she and Haku had fought. "Sakura!"

* * *

_With Sakura, Tazuna, and Sasuke..._

"Uuggh..." Sasuke opened his eyes to see a blurry pink blob. _'Sakura...?'_ "You're heavy... get off."

Sakura snapped up and stared at him through teary eyes. "Sasuke... kun...? Sasuke-kun!" Exhilarated with relief, Sakura threw her arms around Sasuke, pushing in a few senbon deeper. Sasuke hissed.

"Sakura. That hurts!"

Blushing, Sakura pulled away. "Ahh.... Sorry." Wiping away her tears, she smiled at him. "I'm just glad you're alright."

"Hn." Sasuke was silent for a moment before remembering what happened. Eyes wide, he stared at Sakura. "What about Naruto?! Is sh- I mean, _he_ okay?!"

Sakura blinked and tilted her head. "Naruto? Yeah, he's fine. Why?"

Sasuke sighed in relief and shook his head. "It's nothing. Thanks."

Sakura giggled causing Sasuke to look up. Why was she- His eyes widened as he two figures rise up from a puddle, leaking killer intent. "Sakura! Behind you!"

Sakura looked behind her and froze upon seeing the two missing nin behind her. _'What?!'_

Cursing mentally, Sasuke used his remaining strength to push his teammate out of the way, leaving himself open to injury. Sakura fell to the ground unharmed but the claw pierced his shoulder. He let out a yell of pain, clutching his shoulder, as Sakura shrieked in fear.

He glared up at the missing nin. "_Don't_," he gasped, "hurt. My. Teammate."

"Sakura!"

The rest was a blur and things began to collide. His head began to become fuzzy. _'What... what's going on?!'_

_

* * *

_

_One week later..._

"You really helped us a lot! But... this is sad, you know? Even if it _was_ busy, it was nice to have so many people over," Tazuna commented as they walked towards the bridge.

"Aa... Thanks for taking care of us." Kakashi chuckled lightly, scratching the back of his head. The week had been a fast one. Shortly after Sasuke had been injured, Naruto quickly caught on and enacted revenge. The Demon Brothers were later shipped to Konoha in chakra enforced chains with a dog summon watching them to make sure they didn't escape. Haku treated Sasuke's arm temporarily and Tazuna hosted all six shinobi under his roof. It'd been quite chaotic.

"Don't worry! We'll come visit!" Naruto laughed.

Tears in his eyes, Inari managed to sniffle out a "You... better...!" before Naruto patted his head.

"It's okay to cry, you know!"

"I'm not going to cry unless you cry!" Inari shouted stubbornly. Abruptly, Naruto turned away.

"I understand, Inari-kun." To Inari, it looked cool and served a last impression of an awesome role model. To Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke, Haku and Zabuza, all of whom could see Naruto crying with snot coming out of her nose, it just made her look stupid.

Kakashi sighed after the blond, waving a good bye. Soon all six were halfway across the bridge.

"That boy... gave us a hope called courage..." Tazuna said.

"Un!" Inari agreed, sniffing. "Ah! Ne! Grandpa! What are you going to call the bridge?"

"The Great Tazuna Bridge!" Tazuna laughed hautily.

Wrinkling his nose, Inari shook his head. "Nah, that sounds stupid! I know! You should name it The Great Naruto Bridge!"

Around them, people agreed, causing Tazuna to sulk. _'But... I'm the one who made it!'_

At the end of the bridge, the two groups faced each other.

"Kakashi."

"Zabuza."

"We'll part here."

"Aa."

Amazing how social the jounin were, ain't it? Luckily, their subordinates didn't happen to be as socially inept.

"Now, Uchiha-san. Please get that arm checked up. My meager attempts at healing it, probably aren't enough." Haku smiled at him as he rolled his eyes.

"Hn."

"Oi! Teme! Stop being rude!" Naruto scolded, swatting him on the head. Haku chuckled at their antics. "He means thanks, Haku!"

He smiled at her, making her blush for some reason. Sasuke stared. "Thank you for your translation, Naruto-_chan!_"

Sasuke scowled upon hearing the honorific. After Haku had called her "san" for the first three days, Naruto had gotten sick of it and asked him to call her something else. He chose "chan". The scowl didn't escape Haku's notice and a gleam entered his eyes.

"Ah. Naruto-chan!"

Naruto looked at him. "Hm? What is it, Haku?"

"Do me a favor and come closer, would you?" Haku smiled reassuringly at her.

Head tilted in curiosity, Naruto moved closer to Haku. In lightning swift movements, Haku grabbed her arm and gently pressed his lips against hers.... all the while, staring at Sasuke mockingly. Zabuza didn't call him sadistic without reason.

Sasuke gaped for a moment. Then, he began to feel angry. In a rage, he grabbed Naruto away from him. "Get away from her, you asshole! She's mine!"

He froze as soon as the words left his mouth. 'Mine'...? Oh god... He didn't actually _say_ that, did he....? By Kakashi's groan and Haku's raised eyebrow, he did. He was almost afraid to look at Naruto but that's where his eyes ended up. Luckily for him, she was in too much of a shock at having been kissed by Haku to have heard his words.

Suddenly she blushed a full red and stared, wide-eyed, at Haku. "W-what was that for!" she cried.

Haku chuckled. "It was a goodbye present."

"Oh." She looked away and noticed Sasuke's stare. When did he get so close?! "What, teme?"

".... How come you punch and yell at me, but you just say 'oh' to him?!" What the hell? How was that fair?!

She glared at him. "Because you suck! Bye Haku!" She walked away from him in a huff. In all honesty... she was sort of scared to get too close to the Uchiha. That moment on the bridge.... when she had thought he died... in that moment... he had replaced Sakura as her first priority... It wasn't acceptable. Her fists clenched. She would have to distance herself. She was getting too close.

Sasuke glared at the orange back. _'Stupid dobe. What does she know?'_

He heard light giggling behind and turned. "What, you freak."

Haku raised an eyebrow. "'Freak'...?" He blinked for a moment and then tilted his head. "Ah. You activated the Sharingan, Uchiha-san. Congratulations."

Eyes widening, Sasuke ran towards water and peered down, seeing the red eyes with two black tomoe. He grinned. At least _something_ good came out of this.

He smugly began walking after Naruto, not even bothering to say goodbye to their ex-enemies. Haku just shook his head in amusement. How entertaining.

Nodding goodbye, Kakashi followed his students, eying them proudly. They'd grown. As his eyes rested on Sakura, however, he'd frowned. Something was wrong. She grew really subdued after the Demon Brothers had attacked her. And she kept staring at Sasuke's arm. It didn't escape his notice that she hadn't interacted at all during the whole goodbye. It was almost as though she wasn't even there. He wasn't even sure she knew what just happened. He might have to talk with her. _Hopefully_ it wouldn't be anything _too_ bad... but still... He frowned at his thoughts. Damn. He was becoming a mother hen...

* * *

**A/N**: Aa... and there you go! hopefully the Sasuke/Naruto developmentish interactions made up for the lateness...? Ha ha... (cries as tomato hits face) But yeah... I'm aware that Haku becomes _really_ out of character here but I just added it in... for fun... I'm not exactly sure how i feel about this chapter. I had fun writing it but I'm _really_ afraid to look over it... So if there are any glaring mistakes... tell me and I'll fix it! Okay...? Oh! and someone has told me in a review that the poison would _not_ come out through coughing but through... down there... However, i don't think that I'm going to change it since... well... I already knew that the whole coughing thing probably wasn't right and that... well... it seems _cooler_ to me somehow to cough up poison from your body... XD But yeah...

**Q: When will Sakura find out Naruto's secret?**

**A:** .... it's a _secret! ;) _lol. I can't tell you that!

Ah well... I _think_ that might be it... though I feel like I'm missing something... Hmmm.... Oh yeah! In case people are wondering, things might start getting a _bit_ more different from canon from now on. I know I plan on quite a few changes but yeah... Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Happy (belated-ish) New Year! Review!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary**: For her, she'd be willing to do anything... even give up her femininity. She'd be willing to be a guy... no matter what. All for her... Too bad Sasuke won't leave her be.

**Disclaimer**: If you look at the URL you'll clearly see the word "fanfiction" written there. So I ask you, what _fan_ actually _owns _the thing they squeal after? I certainly am not one of them. No... I just choose to put them into situations and control their very actions! :D

**AN**: First parts going to be almost the same as the last chapter 10 if you've read it before i took it down.... (cough) sorry about that by the way. It just wasn't cutting it. This is mostly a transitional chapter before we get into the Chuunin exam that's filled with internal as well as external problems... and that pedophilic snake... yeah... I wonder how I should torture him....?

**recap for those who have forgotten**: Team seven has just defeated Gato, teaming up with Zabuza and Haku at the last minute. All seemed to be going well until the Demon Brothers magically popped up and attacked Sakura. Luckily for her, and sadly for Sasuke, our little Uchiha-kun decided to be nice and save his teammate. He got injured. Thankfully, Haku was there to help him. Just before they left for Konoha, Team 7 said their goodbyes to the missing nin. These goodbyes involved a kiss (from Haku to Naruto) and the revealing of Sasuke awakening his sharingan. However, it is revealed from Kakashi that things aren't going well with Sakura and... Naruto has declared to avoid Sasuke in order to protect her vow to protect Sakura?! What?! I thought this was SasuNaru! (Then again, what's a good SasuNaru without troubles?)

Note: This chapter has _lots _of broken up sections from _everyone's _(in team seven) point of view. Deal with for just this chapter. It gets funnier after this! I promise! I actually have _plans _until after the Chuunin exam! And even some after it! .... I just have to bridge a few things here or there.... (sweatdrop)

* * *

**No Matter What**

_Chapter 10_

"No... Don't..."

_Claws slashing. A hard push. Red. Crimson red. _

"SASUKE-KUN!"

Breathing hard, Sakura shot up straight into a sitting position, sweat pouring down her face. Her hands shook as she reached for the water she'd gotten used to placing on her bed stand. Again. It had happened again. Placing her head against the cool glass, having drank all the water, she closed her eyes as a few tears of frustration leaked from her eyes.

"Dammit..."

The nightmares had been getting worse lately. It was okay back at Wave. She'd been in such a state of shock that she hadn't been aware of anything. It was almost as if she'd been in a walking sort of sleep. She bit her lips. But that wasn't okay here. If she did that here... too many people would notice and ask questions... then she'd have to relive it more than she wished too. Her breaths had started to come in faster.

**"Calm down," **inner Sakura grumbled.

_'I know.'_

Taking a shuddering breath, she tried not to think of what _could be_. Putting the glass back down on the table, she got out of bed and walked towards the bathroom. Tiredly, she glanced at the clock. 3:00 AM. She'd only gotten three hours of sleep. Again. Her lips quirked just the slightest bit. _'If this goes on for much longer... I won't have to worry about just my forehead anymore,' _she thought in a tired sort of humor. _'But then again... Do I really have time to worry about beauty anymore?'_

She sighed as the warm water hit her back. God... This felt _so_ good... She let out a small smile as she got out of the shower. Hopefully, this day would be a good one. Hopefully. Sasuke-kun may even go out to eat with her, the pink haired genin thought, trying to cheer herself up. Even if Sasuke-kun and Naruto were going out (though... with the way Naruto was avoiding Sasuke, she was starting to doubt it), that didn't mean they couldn't hang out as friends and teammates right? Of course... Naruto was always welcome... maybe... Some habits were a bit too hard to break so easily.

After dressing, she went down the stairs, grabbed a bagle, and headed out the door. A jog might do some good. Even if she had just taken a shower.

"Lee! If you do not finish this, then I shall go around Konoha 500 times more on my hands alone!"

"Gai-sensei! If you don't finish that, I shall go around Konoha 600 times spinning on my head!" Lee cried out, having been inspired by his sensei's youthfulness. Oh, his fountain of youth shone so bright! It was his hope that, one day, he's shine _just_ as bright! Tears pouring down in inspired hope, he resumed punching the log.

Attracted by the sounds, Sakura wandered away from her chosen jogging route and ventured off into the trees.

"Two hundred! Two hundred and one! Two hundred and...!"

Gaping slightly, Sakura was surprised to see two green clad figures with a horrid sense of fashion and a horrid hair cut. _'You've _got_ to be kidding me,'_ she thought, unconsciously walking closer. _'But still,_' her eyes narrowed as she observed the tremors of the surrounding logs that weren't even touched, _'what power...'_

Suddenly, the noises stopped causing her to blink in surprise. "What-?"

In a flash of motion, large eyebrows and round eyes clouded her vision and she found her hands being held up. "Oh what a beauty-"

Sakura reacted just as any girl would. She screamed and kneed him where it hurts.

* * *

_Later, with Naruto..._

Darting behind a tree, Naruto let out a curse quietly, trying to figure out some way to escape without notice. This _so_ totally wasn't supposed to happen. She was supposed to use her awesome stealthy-ninja skills to avoid the teme. So _why_ was it that she kept seeing him everywhere she went?! Luckily, she had managed to avoid him so far. But still....

The market, training sessions, missions, on the way to Ichiraku, on the way to the Hokage mountain, on the way home.... I mean, yeah! She could understand the whole seeing each other at missions and training sessions and other crap like that.. but everytime she went to the market?! When she went home?! They lived in the opposite directions from the training grounds! And why the hell was he near Ichiraku in any case?!

She let out a scowl, temporarily forgetting where she was. "DAMN YOU, TEME! YOU AND YOUR STUPID STALKER-ISH WAYS!" she yelled out, waving a fist at the sky.

"Dobe," came the whisper in her ear, bringing her back to reality. She froze. Crap. She had- "You're quite an idiot if you're trying to hide from me by shouting out to the world where you are."

Turning slowly, her wide eyes met his smirking ones. That's right. He kept finding her because she kept yelling out in anger. Narrowing her eyes into a glare, she drew back her fist and punched him in the gut. _'Note to self, stop yelling at the sky about teme's teme-ness. Doesn't look sane and is bad for stealth.' Still_, that didn't explain why she kept seeing him all over the place.

She was so consumed with avoiding Sasuke and stomping off angrily that she didn't even realize that by avoiding him, she was _also_ avoiding Sakura. Once again, Sasuke had won a point against her. Not that either knew it.

* * *

_Sasuke..._

Life was irritating. This statement was truth for one Uchiha Sasuke. It could liven up a bit and almost seem okay... but then it would _always_ just increase in irritation the next moment and you would hate it. It would then bite you in the ass for your hatred. And thus was life.

How did he know such truths? Why, it's quite simple, really. That could be the only explanation for why, when he had grown almost _fond_ of that dobe (tell anyone and he'll do something painful to you. Probably involving fire... or something that chirps annoyingly), that idiot was avoiding him._ 'It was cruel almost_,' he mused to himself as he walked towards the orange fabric, sticking out vibrantly against the dark brown bark of the tree. Since _that_ incident, he'd grown used to the loneliness and the fangirls (collective shudder now!) that had irritatingly chased after him. Now, when the dobe was avoiding him, though she wasn't a fangirl (life wasn't _that_ ironic), the loneliness irritated him and _he_ was chasing after _her_!

Why did the absence of dobeness annoy him anyway?! One would think he'd be _glad _for it. But nooooo... It actually made him want to kill something. Stu-

"DAMN YOU TEME! YOU AND YOU STUPID STALKER-ISH WAYS!"

He rolled his eyes. Then again... it wasn't really that much of a chase when she made it so... _easy._ He smirked as he traveled wide around her in order to sneak behind her. Leaning close, he got a sniff of her hair and almost had to keep himself from burying his nose in it. Almost. Because he wasn't a pervert and was an Uchiha. But, damn, she smelled nice. Like... Apples and cinnamon almost.

Mentally shaking his thoughts away (they were unfit for one of his stature), He leaned ever closer, brushing his lips against that (godly smelling) blond hair and resting them right next to the curve of her ear. "Dobe," he whispered deviously. Payback for all the trouble she'd caused him. Though it was almost too easy to find her. "You're quite an idiot if you're trying to hide from me by shouting out to the world where you are."

The raven haired genin leaned back to watch the show. She turned slowly, he noted to his amusement. Almost like he wouldn't be there if she turned slowly enough. His lips curved up ever so slightly as he met her wide eyes.

_'How pretty,' _the traitorous portion of his mind whispered before he was able to throw it and incinerate it. What the hell was he thinking?! He was-

He let out an oof, crouching over as Naru's fist left his gut. Damn, he wasn't expecting that. As the stomping of footsteps began to grow increasingly farther away, he wondered if she knew how strong she actually was. Turning over onto his back, he propped himself up on his elbows and... found his eyes attracted to a certain orange dobe's posterior.

_'You've got to be kidding me. Hormones! It's just hormones!'_ he cried out to himself, still unable to look away from the slight sway and jiggle made from the stomping. With a mental sigh, Sasuke couldn't help but wonder to himself what happened to the days when he'd wonderfully just found her _annoying_. Instead of... _this. _

He gulped as she seemed to bounce over a pile of rocks innocently lying in her way.

And thus, the reason why life was so irritating.

* * *

_Kakashi..._

Kakashi wanted to grab his team, tied them around a post and set Iruka on them to angrily lecture them for hours on end about _teamwork_. A concept they _really_ didn't seem to understand. He let out an aggravated sigh as he set towards the training grounds... two hours late. After all, some habits were just too _good_ to break. He let out a smirk.

But back to the source of his aggravation. He didn't know what to do, really. Sakura had come to sometime just before arriving at Konoha but seemed to just keep fawning over Sasuke even though he'd been cleared as healthy and fit by the medic nin. Though... it still wasn't as bad as before that bell test. Thank god for small favors.

Naruto, on the other hand.... He bit back a scowl as he thought of the blond, not that anyone would see. Naruto... was the one to ruin the teamwork the most. She absolutely refused to interact with the Uchiha and avoiding any and all types of contact and communication with him and thus, Sakura as well.

Amazingly enough, the loner of the group and the one with the most communicative problems was actually the one who practiced the most bit of teamwork. Yes, that was right. Uchiha Sasuke actually practiced his teachings the most out of his team. _He_ at least tolerated Sakura and tried to communicate with Naruto. His brows furrowed for a moment. Now that he thought of it... He seemed to be trying to capture her attention quite a bit, being in her eye site more than what was considered usual. His lips smirked as a thought occurred to him... Could it be... Nah. Uchihas were too stupid to do such a thing.

Shaking his head, Kakashi went onwards to meet his team, contemplating how to get them to work together and _stick with it._

When he finally got there, he blinked in horror as he met the site of a mini-Gai. He'd... heard rumors... but he didn't actually think they might be true. And just what was Gai's student - what was his name again? Ree Lock? Boulder? Stone Head? - doing with _his_ team?

"DAMN IT! I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE!" Sakura shouted, vein ticking and scowling all the while.

"But, Sakura-san!" Kakashi was disturbed to almost see flowers spouting around him in the air. One, it didn't match with his clothing... or hair... or eyebrows... My god... he really was a mini-Gai. Two, was that a genjutsu? He discretely made the handseals required to release genjutsu. Nope.

"How long are you going to stay here anyways, thick brows? Isn't obvious by now that Sakura doesn't want to go on a date with you?" Naruto grinned good naturedly at the boy in green spandex.

"Hn."

Naruto scowled upon hearing the grunt from the Uchiha, still angry at him, but continued on anyways. "That's right! She wants to go on a date with me!" she proclaimed proudly, pointing towards her chest with her thumb. "No hard-"

"Naruto!" Freezing, Naruto slowly turned around for the second time that day, this time in order to face an even scarier teammate. She gulped as she spotted a murderous gleam in the green eyes. Ten seconds later, she was knocked against a tree. Letting out a sigh, Sakura clapped her hands and turned to face the only non-team seven member there.

"Lee-kun. Look. As much as I appreciate the encouragement from earlier this morning," here, her teammates looked at one another in confusion, "you _really_ should get going. Don't you have a team meeting or something somewhere?" Sakura added, looking just the slightest bit hopeful.

Lee's eyes grew wide with an almost palpable amount of worry for a moment (if that was possible) before he laugh it off and scratched his head, causing the conscious team seven members to face plant on the ground. "Ha ha ha... That's true but you, Sakura-chan, are worth-"

A loud smack resounded throughout the clearing as a girl with two buns on the side of her head stood above an unconscious Lee, hand still raised. "Lee," she mutter, picking up the green clad genin. Turning towards team seven, she bowed down. "I'm sorry for the trouble my stupid teammate may have caused you. I'm Tenten."

Sakura chuckled nervously before returning a bow. "Sakura. And it's no problem. Erm... Will he be alright?"

The girl smiled, a small amount of killing intent leaking from her. "Don't worry. He'll survive. But I should go."

Kakashi chose then to appear just behind Sakura, instigating a scream from her. "Yo."

After a moment had passed, the pink haired genin just sighed, shaking her head and thinking about earlier that morning.

_"I'm _so_ sorry! I just... you just..." Flustered, Sakura fluttered around the fallen Green Beast of Konoha. "Are you... okay?" she asked, blushing somewhat. She knew that _that_ area generally... hurt when slammed against something._

_Amazingly enough, the genin just laughed it off, face red from the exertion of ignoring the pain. "Fine! Fine!"_

_She smiled somewhat. "Are you sure? There's nothing I could do?"_

_He looked at here with big eyes, reminding her of a puppy. Unfortunately, he ruined that by squirming this way and that as he held his hands behind his back. "How about a name and a date, oh beautiful-"_

_"Excuse me," Sakura sputtered, eyes wide. What the hell?_

_"Ah ha ha. I guess that was too much." He looked a little disappointed. And feeling a twinge of guilt which _really_ made no sense, she decided to change the topic._

_"I'm Sakura."_

_"Lee!" the older boy exclaimed exuberantly, startling her a bit. _

_"Ah. Well then... Lee-san... Where you training just now?" This caused a furious round of nodding to erupt from the boy. _

_"Yes! I'm training in order to become as youthful as my sensei and become the greatest taijutsu expert of Konoha!" His eyes gained a flaming quality, creeping out the pink haired genin. _

_"I see..." She sighed just the slightest bit, looking forlornly at the logs. "I wish I could become strong."_

_"You can! Just train!" Lee grinned and gave a good guy pose - shining teeth and thumbs up being shown off in all their glory._

_She looked at him skeptically. "And just _where_ would I get that?"_

_He looked at her in surprise. "Why! From your youthful sensei of course!"_

_Sakura blinked before letting out a giggle. From Kakashi-sensei? The perverted, always-late, no-good sensei? But still... "Thank you, Lee. It's a very nice (and logical) suggestion."  
_

"Ne, Sasuke-kun. Think you could wake up Naruto? I have to talk to Kakashi-sensei about something."

"Hn," came from the disgruntled Uchiha, standing above the slowly stirring jinchuuriki. "Oi. Dobe. Wake up," he called, poking the cross dresser with his foot. She stirred groggily.

"Sakura-chan?"

The Uchiha snorted. "Sorry to disappoint you but it's me."

The blond haired genin let out a scream of horror. "Teme!"

Rolling his eyes, he smirked at her. "At least you're talking to me now. Do. Be!"

Nostrils flaring out in rage, Naruto let out a "battle" cry, "Damn you, Teme!" before tackling her raven haired teammate to the ground.

* * *

"What'd you want to talk about?" Kakashi asked, looking at his student curiously.

She blushed under his scrutiny. "Erm... Sensei... I... Want...." He lifted an eyebrow as she took a deep breath before looking him dead on in the eyes, determination burning brightly. "Kakashi-sensei. I want to become stronger. Please help me do so!"

His eyes widened in shock before curving into a smile. "I would love to, Sakura-chan."

Maybe... Maybe they'd be okay without his interference? Kakashi thought hopefully. He really _did_ dislike having to fix childrens' squabble. Because that's all they were. Children. Though they were, admittedly, some _pretty_ screwed up children.

"Damn you, Teme!" A loud boom followed shortly after the shout.

His shoulders slumped. Then again, maybe not.

* * *

**A/N**: Ha ha... poor Kakashi. But seriously... erm... if this chapter feels like it's a bit unconnected to the previous chapter... I'm sorry. But like... give me a break. I've been gone for quite a while! But worry not! I shall have the next chapter hopefully ready soon since like... I actually have _plans_ for the next few ones. You know what happened the last time I had plans? The Haku-Naru period thing is what! Just imagine what's next! Mwahahaha... but it probably won't be as funny. Some troubling times are ahead. But in any case...

Dude. This chapter was like pulling teeth out of a horse's ass... Yeah. A horse's ass. It was really hard. But here's to hoping that the next chapter is easier!

But despite the likeliness that I'll actually _write _faster... It doesn't mean a faster update. Yeah, it won't take months or anything but... I may not be able to update until like... three weeks from now... because... I have SAT subject tests and two AP tests coming up. What's up with piling all the major tests around the same time period anyway?!

In any case. Read and review! Hope you _somewhat_ enjoyed it at least!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary**: For her, she'd be willing to do anything... even give up her femininity. She'd be willing to be a guy... no matter what. All for her... Too bad Sasuke won't leave her be.

**Disclaimer**: Yeah... I own Naruto and that's why I'm writing a _fan fiction_ in which Naruto is a girl instead of just creating a whole new series. And its also why i'm writing a narusasu fanfiction instead of just making it the canon pairing of the series... yup. In other words.... I don't own it.

**AN**: Sorry it took so long. Lots of test... I think i failed in the end so maybe I should have just written but whatever. I was planning on putting in more... but i found a good place to end that i couldn't resist so i stopped there. Sorry. I know it's a bit short but... it was a good resting place!

* * *

**No Matter What**

_Chapter 11_

"As much as I'd love to teach you... I'm not exactly the best for it. With your chakra control and the amount of chakra you hold at the current moment, you're more suited to genjutsu or medic jutsu. Unfortunately, all the genjutsu I know are extremely high level and beyond your ability at the current moment and all the medic jutsu that I know are bastardized version that are used on the field and later result in a leg being lost without further treatment after a day or so," he explained regretfully.

Sakura felt her heart drop. Seeing her quickly falling face, he continued. "However, despite the fact that I'm not able to help you all that much, I'd be happy to get you a teacher in genjutsu and medic jutsu. You'll take lessons from them during a certain time in the day, do physical training with me, then team training and afterwards, missions."

She cheered up slightly upon hearing his plan. All wasn't lost! She could get stronger! "Thank you, sensei! I'll do my best and not let you down!"

He gazed at her challengingly. "It'll be extremely tiring if you actually go along with this schedule. Are you sure you want to do this?"

The pink haired genin nodded resolutely. "Hai. I want to get stronger so that I can at least _help_ somewhat in a fight and not be a deadweight. I want to do this."

Kakashi smiled. "Then I'll make the arrangements."

"Hai!"

Sakura beamed up at her teacher, confident that she'd be able to get through it with ease. Oh _how_ she would regret those words later. Oh _how_ she would regret them.

* * *

_1 month later...._

Sweat pouring down her shirt, Sakura plopped down next to her orange clad teammate who offered her water. Taking it gratefully, she gulped it down, uncaring of how she might look. She was tired. She'd been working her butt of for the last month and if anyone said something even vaguely insulting to her... she was ready to castrate their asses. That is... _after_ forcing them to learn genjustsu from 6 to 8 AM and then work with with crazy medic nin who eerily resembled dragons from 9 to 12. And _then_, do endurance training from 1 to 3 followed by team exercises and missions. Specifically the dragon medic nin portion of the schedule. They tended to yell a bit more then one would expect of doctors and they sucked all the energy out of you. It was _creepy_. Luckily, all her hard work was paying off and she was progressing swiftly.

Naruto looked upon her "charge" worriedly. "Are you okay, Sakura-chan? You look really tired."

The girl smiled wanly, sinking into the comfortable grass as much as she could. "This last month has been killing me. With all the training I've been doing, it's pushing me."

The blond jinchuuriki bit her lips. "Maybe... Maybe its-"

She was interrupted with a glare. "Naruto. If you even think about finishing that sentence with 'It's too much for you,' I'll castrate you and then shove your balls down your throat. I haven't been working my ass off just to give up now. I'll be fine," she added with a harrumph, inciting a small smile out of her teammate.

"Hai, hai!" At least she was back to normal, Naruto couldn't help but think to herself. Even _if_ she was dead tired.

Turning their gaze to the two males of the team that were currently training, Sakura found herself frowning. "Ne. Naruto."

"Hm?" the blond replied, playing around with a leaf with some chakra. "What is it, Sakura-chan."

"When are you and Sasuke-kun going to make up?"

Startled, the cross dresser jerked slightly and gazed at her teammate with wide eyes. "What? Make up with the teme? What are you going on about Sakura? We're not even fighting!"

Rolling her eyes, the pink haired girl gave an exasperated sigh. "Just how oblivious do you think I am. You keep avoiding him and, despite his attempts to talk to you, all you do is yell at him or glare or fight or... you know. It's really ruining the team dynamics. I mean, it's almost like _Sasuke_ is the peacemaker and most social of the group, what with me being so tired and you unable to talk with him," she joked.

Naruto looked horrified at the thought. "Teme's our peacemaker and the most social?! What the hell is our world coming to?!"

Sakura couldn't keep it in. She burst out laughing upon seeing the reaction from her blond teammate. Calming herself down some, Sakura shook her head. "Well, I guess you'd better fix that, haven't you? Go on. Make up and be the loud obnoxious self that you are."

"That's right. He's not supposed to be the- Hey! Sakura-chan!" Naruto pouted, having just caught onto the end. "Loud and obnoxious?! That doesn't describe me!"

She raised a delicate pink eyebrow. "Uh huh," she commented sarcastically. "So what does?"

The jinchuuriki puffed up her chest. "I'm a _childish prankster at heart_!" she declared proudly.

A snort could be heard behind her. Whipping around, Naruto scowled upon seeing her male teammate. "'Childish prankster at heart'?" He couldn't help but repeat in disbelief. "What the hell?"

"Teme! What is _up_ with you and sneaking up from behind me?! What! Are you staring at my butt or something?!"

Silence reigned after this exclamation.

"Naruto. Just _where_ do you get these things?" Sakura snorted out, crackling up at the ridiculousness of such a notion. "Sasuke-kun? Staring at someone's butt in the open? He seems more like someone who'd do that in the shadows, doesn't he?"

Sasuke looked insulted making Sakura smirk at him. They may be teammates and he may be her old crush, but it was getting _slightly_ creepy how he'd always creep up on the blond.

"I guess he _does_ seem the type," the cross dresser commented thoughtfully. "But still... it's getting a bit creepy," she said, unconsciously repeating Sakura's previous thoughts out loud.

Sasuke scowled. "I do not _stalk_ people in order to stare at their posterior." His teammates were silent as they stared at him, mouths slightly open. "What?" he asked, getting annoyed at they faces.

"... _posterior_? What the hell? Just say 'butt'!" Naruto exclaimed with a nod from Sakura in agreement.

He sniffed. "It works doesn't it?" he sulked.

They deadpanned. "It makes you sound utterly gay."

"I mean," Sakura continued, "I know that you _are_, since you're in love with Naruto, but you don't have to sound like-"

"I'm not gay," Sasuke interrupted, glaring. "Especially not with Naruto." Considering the fact that she's a girl and it is therefore impossible for him to be _gay_ if he loved her. Which he didn't. Really. He didn't. He just-

Sakura furrowed her brows. "Huh? Aren't you going out with Naruto-kun?"

They froze, staring at her in shock. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah. I mean, I know that you've been fighting but... I just thought...."

"We're not going out!" Naruto yelled, making exaggerated motions indicating a loud and firm NO. "I would _never_ go out with the teme! _You're _the only one for me, Sakura-chan!"

The pink-haired genin blanched. "Ew! Naruto! Don't say anything so cheesy!" Still... Sakura smiled. It almost felt nice.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was scowling. For some _strange, strange_ reason he was unable to understand... Naruto's exclamations made him _really_ pissed off.

"Where'd you get such an idea anyway? Haven't we been fervently denying such accusations whenever questioned?" Naruto asked, garnering stares from her teammates. She froze, conscious of their heavy, amazed stares. "What?"

"'Fervently denying such accusations'....?! Naruto! When did you learn the words 'fervently' and 'accusations'?! Is the world coming to an end?! Is the sky falling?!" Sakura frantically searched the skies for "broken" pieces.

Naruto deadpanned. "If the sky was falling... wouldn't the pieces be on the _ground_?"

Sakura frozed and Sasuke's eyes widened in amazement. "My god... the dobe is being logical! Quick! Look-"

"Goddammit! I'm not _completely_ stupid, you meanies!" the teased blond cried out in indignant outrage. Her teammates crackled with laughter. Sakura clutched her stomach and had tears pouring out from laughing so hard. Sasuke just snickered.... quite a bit. It might all most be considered laughter if he wasn't an Uchiha.

"Look," the pink-haired genin of the team wheezed out, holding up a clear wispy blue piece of _something_ that seemed to generate a small amount of chakra, "it's a piece of the sky."

The jinchuuriki's eyes widened in amazement. "EH?! No way!" she shouted out as she looked up at the sky looking for a hole or something to indicate a missing portion.

This made her teammates break out into even harder laughter as the "piece of the sky" dissolved. "Dobe. It was a _genjutsu_," the Uchiha snorted in amusement. She pouted, sulking at the unfairness of her teammates teaming up on her. But.... at least they were happy and Sakura was laughing. Sasuke was a bonus too she guessed. The teme needed a little lightening up here and there anyways. And _maybe_... just maybe... she'd stop trying to ignore him. But only because Sakura-chan said so! Right.... only because Sakura-chan said so...

"Yeah yeah," she grumbled, "laugh it up, you losers."

Up in the tree, not far away, Kakashi sat, gazing at his team with fond eyes. Underneath his mask, his lips curved up into a soft smile. They'd do fine. A bird flew across the sky, catching his attention. It was time to go. With a poof, he disappeared, leaving behind a note that slowly drifted down onto the Uzumaki's head. Yes... They'd do just fine.

"OI! STOP LAUGHING ALREADY!"

* * *

_Later that day, in the market...._

"Ne, Naruto," Sakura shispered, face pinched in disbelief. "Is that... a box following us?"

Not even bothering to look back, the blond continued whistling cheerily. "Yup."

"Shouldn't we... I don't know... Do something about it?"

The crossdresser looked at her teammate out of the corner of her eyes. "I guess... but... doing that means more time away from ramen!" she whined. "Besides, it's probably just a couple of brats hiding under there since the box-"

"It's a rock! A _rock_, Naruto-niichan!" came an indignant mutter from the _rock._

"Ah. Sorry sorry! Since the _rock_," she continued without remorse or pause, "is square and a stupid disguise. I mean, what kind of rock is perfectly square, has no curves what-so-ever, and has such obvious eye holes for kami-sama's sake?"

A sputter of outrage could be heard. Sakura had stopped, mouth slightly agape. What the-

"It's like... they're begging for a prank to happen." Her eyes gained a devilish gleam. "For instance," she walked toward the box and crouched down, aiming her butt towards the holes as her hands began forming hand seals. "Some cruel, mean, evil person could do this and - Aah!"

Naruto jumped up with a yelp, clutching her butt. Two little fingers could be seen sticking out of the eye holes. "Damn it! That's the second time this year!" she cried out, aggravation practically pulsating from her. Sakura just shook her head, embarrassment coming over her.

Smoke erupted from the box in a series of three consecutive poofs, all different colors. Coughing could be heard from within the cloud. Moments later, the smoke cleared, revealing three children, one girl and two boys, all wearing the same kind of goggles - goggles that eerily resembled Naruto's old ones.

"Udon! You used too much gunpowder!" the boy in the center wearing a scarf coughed out.

"But Konohamaru-kun! You're the one who threw down the gunpowder!"

"You still used too much gunpowder!"

"But-" It was then that the trio noticed their specters could see them. Quickly standing up, Konohamaru let out a slow laugh.

"Mwa! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Nice try, nii-chan but I'm just too good a ninja for-"

Bonk!

An angry Naruto towered over a knocked over Konohamaru. "If you finish that sentence, I'll kill you, brat. _You're_ 100 years too early to be comparing yourself to the awesomeness that is _me_," she boasted, resting her foot on his chest.

"Konohamaru!" a girl's voice cried out. Moments later, Naruto felt a small body crash into her. "Get your foot off him you big bully!"

"Excuse me?!" Naruto felt her eye twitch. "I'm not a bully!" She glared down at the orange pigtailed girl. Another body slammed into her from the other side. "Again?!"

"Let Konohamaru-kun go!" a more boyish voice cried this time. It almost sounded nasally in tone. This time, it was the boy who wore glasses.

She looked down at the kid in question. "Oi. Gaki. Who the hell are these fellow brats of yours?"

"Get your foot off me, nii-chan!" Konohamaru wheezed. "I can't breathe!"

She rolled her eyes. "Can't breathe my ass. Stop playing around and get to it," she grumbled, lifting her foot off the academy student.

Once their leader was released, they quickly snapped into action. "Into formation!" Konohamaru cried. Moments later, the three stood side by side, all in a different pose.

"The one who possesses the appeal of an adult and the female ninja from the senior group, Moegi!"

"The one who loves numbers, Udon!"

"The village's number one genius ninja, Konohamaru!"

"The three of us make... THE KONOHAMARU CORPS!"

The two genins stared at them with sweatdrops. Naruto just sighed good naturedly, lips twitching into a small smile. A chuckle escaped from her. "What do you want _now_?"

Konohamaru grinned. "Play _ninja_ with us, nii-chan!"

"Yeah! Ninja!"

"Ninja!"

Sakura stared at her teammate. "What kind of shinobi _plays_ ninja?" she asked.

"Ah ha ha!" The blond scratched the back of her head. "The kind that plays with kids?"

Konohamaru blinked innocently. "Eh? Nii-chan? Is she your girlfriend? But... I though you were _gay!_ You know... with Sasuke-san!"

Silence reigned for a moment before a loud snort erupted from the pink haired girl. "See!" she laughed out. "Even _kids_ can see that you and Sasuke-kun are together! So don't deny it!"

"We're not!" she cried out, beat red. "I like _you_, Sakura-chan! Really-"

"But nii-chan! You were _straddling_ him!"

Sakura's head whipped towards her teammate, eyes wide as her imagination supplied rich and _colorful_ images of _all_ that could have gone on in order to involve_ straddling_. And might I mention they were _all_ of the _sexual nature?_ "What?! You've... you've... gone that-"

"NO!" she burst out, face red with embarrassment. The blond whipped around to glare at what she deemed the source of her current problems. "Brat! You had better run!" she shouted, an aura of revenge flaring up around her.

With a squeal, the academy students flew through the clouds as fast as he could, his two friends following him. The bright orange monster currently after some blood was a good source of motivation to go faster. "Run! Faster! Don't stop!" they cried, pushing each other to go faster than the other and not get caught.

Unfortunately, their leader was finally caught and trapped with angry blond sitting on his face. "Revenge! Revenge shall be _mine!_" she cried out dramatically, hands forming seals.

"Onara no Jutsu!"

A loud, disgusting fart erupted from the blond, knocking out the members of Konohamaru Corps. Revenge satisfied, she stood up and stretched, grinning widely. "How's _that_ for revenge brats?" She frowned when she received no response. Maybe it was over-kill? Meh. They should wake up in a couple of minutes or so.

"Ugh! What the hell is that smell?!"

Whipping around, Naruto turned to look at a pair of ninja, their headbands deviating from the usual Konoha ones that she was so used to seeing. The male of the pair was dressed in all black and carried a large, wrapped object on his back. The female carried a large fan. These people were definitely _not_ from Konoha.

"I swear, if I find out where this smells coming from, I'll beat it up until it doesn't smell any longer!"

"Oh shut up, Kankuro. What are you going to do if it's just trash?"

"What kind of trash smells like this? It smells like a giant fat-ass took a shit in the middle of the road and then dumped barf and rotten food over it."

"That's disgusting."

"It's true!"

During this conversation, the trio had started wake up. Konohamaru, who had received the worst off of the lot but was the most resilient of the three, managed to get onto his feet, swaying shakily. Too engaged in deciding on whether to regard the duo as a threat or not, Naruto never noticed the Third's grandson wobble past her and towards the foreign nin. That is... until he slammed into the black garbed male.

"Gaki!" she cursed, belatedly noticing that he'd gotten up. A bit too late, might I add.

Kankuro looked down at the kid. "Oi, you okay kid?"

Circles of dizziness could be seen within his eyes as he muttered something about _farting jutsu_ and a plea for help. What the hell? Maybe he should take him to the doctor?

"Oi! Kid!" Kankuro lifted him up by the scarf in order to get a better look at him. "Hey. Temari. Do you-"

"Let him go!" a loud voice shouted, interrupting him from saying any more to his sister. A kunai flew past his head, narrowly missing him. "Put the gaki down!"

Kankuro looked in the direction the kunai had come from, eyes narrowing as he observed the orange clad genin. How had he escaped his attention before? That jumpsuit screamed out "notice me!" like no good ninja garb should. "Are you the one that did this too him?"

"I said put him down!"

"And why should I?" he challenged, still holding up Konohamaru by the scarf. His sister shifted uneasily.

"Kankuro. You should listen. _He_ said not to do anything."

"_He _is not here yet. And besides, the brat looks like he's been suffering from something horrid," he muttered, eying the passed out kid with pity. "Don't worry about it."

"Put him down or I'll attack you!" The blond crouched down, kunai in hand, ready to attack at a moments notice.

The sand nin smirked. "Bring it on brat. Let's see how Konoha fights!"

* * *

**A/N**: You know... I could have gone on... I really could have... but this seemed like such a great place to stop! Lol. But don't worry... By bio teacher has been making my class suffer too so you aren't the only one. See... AP testing is over (I think I failed everything but whatever...) and so we're.... watching a kung-fu movie! XD Yeah... but just before every awesome major fight... he _so _totally stops it and makes us wait to watch the rest! It's like he _times_ everything! (scowl) so yeah... think of it as my crappy attempt at sharing the misery! lol. People have recently pointed out to me a couple of mistakes that I've made here in there in past chapters... oops... I hadn't meant to do it... but oh well. Maybe later I'll go and fix it but for now... just thanks for pointing it out.

So yeah... Kankuro has somehow come to try to _help_ Konohamaru in this strange sort of events. Huh. As for that whole "Onara no Jutsu" thing... yeah... I don't know japanese so I went to a english to romanized Japanese online dictionary and put in fart. It came out with "he" and "onara" and onara sounded best of the two. So if I deeply offended someone who knows japanese for whatever reason... come up with a replacement name and tell me i offended you... then tell me the name. :P lol.

**Q: How the hell does Sakura keep missing all the blatant !NARUTO IS A GIRL! junk?**

**A:**_ What can I say... She was _really_ out of it... I mean... like she was kind of in shock. Ha ha...._

Any ways... Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Sorry if it came as a bit of a disappointment... Too be honest... I really had more planned for it but... I like the spot to end it.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary**: For her, she'd be willing to do anything... even give up her femininity. She'd be willing to be a guy... no matter what. All for her... Too bad Sasuke won't leave her be.

**Disclaimer**: No... i don't own anything... I'm poor! HAVE PITY ON ME!

**AN**: Ha ha... It came out later than I was planning on... Lazy lazy me... Well... hope you enjoy it!

* * *

**No Matter What**

_Chapter 12_

"Now... We'll hear from those who are watching over the new genin," the Sandaime proclaimed, leaning back in his chair. All the jounin with genin teams under them had been called in and were gathered in front of him, the rookie instructors up front. "Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma... Well? Are there any genin you wish to enter in the Chuunin Exam? I suppose I don't really need to tell you this but a team must complete at least eight missions before being eligible to compete in the exam."

Silence reigned for a moment.

_'He doesn't need to even do this,'_ Iruka thought calmly watching the ongoings. _'There not ready yet...'_

"... Of course most of the teams tend to do more missions than that. Now then... Kakashi, you start."

Kakashi stepped forward, no orange book in site, as he though of the events that had recently passed. His lips curved ever so slightly under the mask. When he answered, his voice brimmed with confidence and no hesitation could be heard what so ever. "The Kakashi led Team 7 - Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura - under the name of Hatake Kakashi, I nominate them to enter the Chunnin Selection Exam."

Iruka's eyes widen with disbelief. "What...?" Was he crazy?! They weren't _near _ready! There was _no way_ Naruto - or even Sasuke and Sakura - could ever be ready so fast! Was he trying to kill them?!

"The Kurenai led team 8 - Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino - under the name Yuuhi Kurenai, the same as to my left."

Mutters of uneasiness and disbelief had begun to spread around the room. _Two_ teams of rookies? What were these instructors thinking? One was bad enough...

"The Asuma led Team 10 - Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji - under the name Sarutobi Asuma, the same as to my left."

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow in interest. "All of them... How rare."

"Wait a minute!" Iruka burst out, unable to stop himself. He _knew_ these kids! There was _no way_ they could _possibly_ be ready! Especially NARUTO!

"What is it, Iruka?"

"Please let me have a word! I may be speaking out of place but I've taught these kids! They're all talented, true, but there's no way they could possibly be ready! It's too early for them to take the exam! They need more experience!"

"I became a chuunin when I was six years younger than Naruto," Kakashi interrupted.

"But Naruto's _not like you!_" Iruka yelled. "He's not like you! He's not a prodigy! He was _dead last _for Kami-sama's sake! Are you trying to crush these kids?!"

Kakashi stared at the chuunin coolly. "Crushing them could be fun-"

"What?!"

"It was a joke," he said blandly. "I understand you're concerned. You're correct. Naruto's not like me. But does that really matter? Not to be completely rude or anything but-"

"Kakashi, stop," Kurenai muttered, staring off to the side.

"- stay out of this. They are no longer your concern. They aren't your students any longer. They are _my_ soldiers."

Silence reigned throughout the room as instructors shifted uneasily. Was this... really okay? It seemed as if they were sending innocent kids to their doom. Finally, someone stepped up.

"Kakashi. Your trust in your youthful students is inspiring but maybe you should wait until next year. Even I-"

"Gai. Shut up. This doesn't concern you either."

The Hokage coughed. "In any case, lets resume."

"Wait, Hokage-sama. I have a proposition." Shadows covered Iruka's face so that his eyes could no longer be seen.

* * *

_With Naruto and the Konohamaru Corps..._

Naruto bared her teeth in a grin as adrenaline began to rush through her system. This asshole was going down! No one but _her_ was allowed to mess with the brat. She gripped her kunai tighter as she tensed, ready to rush him. Just as she was about to burst forth in a totally _awe _inspiring move -

"Naruto!"

- Sakura jumped onto the scene, arms covered in shopping bags. She froze. Shit. She had -

"I can't believe you left me to carry all that shit by myself! What the hell! Do you wanna die?!"

"Sakura-chan! Ah ha ha ha," she laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head. All tension and aggression for battle had left. A once battle ready warrior had turned into a lax and goofy genin. Kankuro gaped. What the...? "About that..."

"No excuses!" Sakura yelled, throwing the bags of non-delicate groceries at her teammate's face. "Carry that! Damn it! I can't believe you just _left me!_"

The orange clad genin wilted, looking reminiscent to a kicked puppy. "But Sakura-chan! I-"

"I _said_ **NO EXCUSES**!" Her voice gained a deeper, more threatening quality as she uttered the last part, sending chills up the spines of the surrounding people.

Shaking of the effects of a scary Sakura, Kankuro took this time to lay the kid carefully on the ground. He may not like midgets but even _he _has a heart. The kid looked so tortured! Anyone who could do that to a kid was _pure evil_... well... maybe not... considering Gaara... He paused for a minute before shaking his head. Whatever.

"Oi!" Kankuro bellowed, bringing attention to himself. "We gonna get this fight on or not?"

"Fight?!" Sakura's eyes narrowed before she whipped towards her paling teammate. "You left me to _fight with some foreign ninja?!_ Naruto!"

"N-no! Sakura-chan! It wasn't like that!" Naruto cried out, frantically waving her arms back and forth in an attempt to dissuade her from thoughts of extreme violence. If she played this out correctly... she may still live yet!

"Then what the hell was that idiot talking about?!" she growled, stalking just the slightest bit.

"He! I! Konohamaru! Erm!" Naruto's eyes frantically looked around for an escape. Hey, she may love and protect the girl... but that didn't mean her punches didn't hurt!

Pink bangs fell over the girl's eyes, covering her face, as fists clenched painfully in an attempt to restrain herself - for once - from hitting her idiotic teammate. After all... they were if front of foreign visitors... It'd be bad politics to show such a bad impression... But dammit! She was _this_ close to shoving politics up her friend/teammate/punching-bag-ish-sort-of-thing's ass and being done with it.... _Breathe Sakura... Breathe... That's right... Breathe..._

Naruto relaxed the slightest bit as she saw the tension being released from her female teammate's shoulders. Thank god... she wouldn't be shamed and killed just yet. "Naruto." She jumped.

"H-hai! What is it, Sakura-chan?"

The pink haired genin grabbed her teammate by her short hair and forcefully shoved her down into a respectful bow towards the sand-nin. "I apologize for any stupid behavior that my teammate may have committed against you. Please forgive him. He's too stupid-"

"Oi! That's not nice, Sakura-chan!"

"-to know any better," she finished, artfully ignoring her teammates interruptions.

The sand-nin raised their eyebrows, impressed by her ability to ignore such a loud voice as though it was some place _far, far _away. Kankuro grinned. "Hmm... I might consider it... if-"

The blond jinchuuriki scowled, escaping from her teammates vice-like grip on her hair. And, hey, it was with only a few hairs being pulled out at most too! Oh yeah... she ruled! "We don't need your fucking forgiveness, you cat wanna-be!"

"You wanna repeat that!" Kankuro roared, grabbing the blond by the collar and raising his fist. Just as it was about to crash down on the genin's head, a crushed can of what used to be grape ponta collided with his head.

"Leave the dobe alone... and shut up while you're at it. You're pretty loud."

The leaf genin whipped their heads toward the voice and were met with the site of their teammate resting in the tree. While Naruto scowled and sputtered about not having needed any help, Sakura inwardly squealed. _'Sasuke-kun looks so cool right now!'_

Meanwhile, behind them, the sand nin were going through their own reactions. Kankuro was clutching at his head and muttering curses under his breathe. The _one time_ he _innocently_ tries to help a midget, he goes through all this trouble! What the hell! And Temari...? Well, she was staring at the Uchiha, a light blush covering his face. _'Ah... pretty... cool...'_

"Teme! What are you doing here?!" Naruto shouted, pointing at her teammate.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, jumping down from his perch in the tree. "Shouldn't I be asking that? I waited at the meeting place for about 20 minutes before going to look for you. And what do I find? You, in a mess... again."

Naruto scowled. "Dammit! It wasn't my fault this time!"

Her teammates looked at her sceptically. "Riiiiiight... Just like it wasn't your fault that time all the dogs got loose and ran amok all around time and we had gather them all. Or that time you decided that using kage-bunshin would be a brilliant idea when you didn't know how to differentiate weed from herb. Or that time with the waterfall where you-"

"Okay! OKay! I get the damn point!"

Her male teammate smirked at her before turning his attention to the foreigners. "So, what are you bastards doing here anyway?"

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura scolded. "Be nice! We're representing Konoha right now dammit!"

The blond of the Konoha group pouted. "How come I get hit and the teme never does?"

They both looked at her blankly. "... because he's _Sasuke-kun_," Sakura stated, as if that explained everything... which really... it did.

She puffed out her cheeks, crossing her arms. "Still not fair," she muttered.

"God damn it!" Kankuro yelled out, unwrapping the large wrapped package on his bag. "I've had it with this! I'm done being nice!"

Temaru started, eyes widening, as she stepped towards her brother, lifting an arm to stop him. "Oi! You're even going to use Karasu?! What about-"

"It's fine! He's not-"

"Kankuro. Stop it." A piercing killing intent penetrated the street, stopping all movement from the genin gathered there. Even unconscious, the academy students shivered. "You're an embarrassment to our village."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as a red haired boy their age with a gourd on his back was revealed. _'How...?! I... wasn't able to sense him!'_

"G-gaara!" Kankuro stuttered, hands shaking just the slightest bit, as a bead of sweat dripped down his neck. "I-it isn't-"

"Shut up. I'll kill you if you say any more." Kankuro just gulped, nodding shakily.

Naruto felt her lips curl in distaste. She may not be the smartest pea of the bunch but even _she _was able to see that they were teammates. _'Teammates that fear one another.'_ It was something she didn't wish to forgive. It was one thing to have a healthy respect for one's strength but to fear your own teammate? And to have death threats being delivered by said teammate? What kind of village accepted such a system? It was disgusting.

"Let's go," Gaara calmly stated, killer intent under wraps, turning in the opposite direction from the group.

"H-hey! Wait!" Sakura cried out, strength flooding her voice. "It's obvious from your hitai-ate that you're from sand, right? We may be allies but you're not allowed to enter another village without permission. State you purpose. Depending on the answer, we may or may not be able to left you go." Her eyes narrowed confidently as a hand began to reach for her kunai.

Temari let out a harsh laugh as she took out her pass. "God, you're really clueless. You don't know anything do you? You're right. We _are _from Sand. We've come to your village to take the Chuunin Exam."

"Chuu... nin... Exam?" Naruto murmured to herself, vague memories coming over her. What was it again? And why did it seems so familiar...?

Temari sighed. "Wow... you really_ don't _know anything. It's-"

"Sorry. My teammates an idiot, as I've said before," Sakura interrupted, not wanting to seem stupid in front of these people. "We'll explain it to him later. Feel free to leave," she ended somwhat coldly, causing Temari to raise an eyebrow.

They turned to leave once Kankuro finished rewrapping "Karasu" only to be stopped once more by Sasuke. "Wait. What's your name - you with the gourd."

"Sabaku no Gaara."

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Silent sparks of challenge flew between the two only to be ruined by Naruto. "Don't try to act cool, teme! It ain't working! You just look constipated!" she shouted, tugging his hair lightly. The blond snorted. "Now let's go. We've got a mission to finish. Enough with this getting side-tracked."

"Did you forget whose fault it is that we got this way?!" Sakura yelled in aggrevation. "And that reminds me! Who do you think you are, to leave me with all that _crap_ by myself? At least Sasuke-kun had left to speed up the mission! All _you_ did was prolong it!"

"But Sakura-chan!"

"Dobe... I think you're making it worse..." Sasuke smirked, raising an eyebrow at his orange clad teammate. She steamed in frustrated anger that couldn't be released. He was _almost_ trying to _help_ her in a roundabout "you're fucked - ha ha!" sort of way....

"So I'm an '_it_' now, Sasuke-kun?! And are you siding against me?!" Sakura's face had grown increasingly red in her anger.

"... hn."

"Again with the 'hn'!" Naruto growled, shaking a fist at the Uchiha.

"_Hn._"

"Yeah, I can translate your freaking grunts by now but it's the-"

"GODDAMMIT! STOP IGNORING ME!"

"EEEEEEEEKK!! SAKURA-CHAN! DON'T KILL ME! NO! PUT THAT DOWN! SAKURA-CHAAAAAAN!!"

* * *

_A few days later, training grounds..._

Team seven had gathered under the shade of the trees in an attempt to escape from the sweltering heat that had invaded Konoha as if sweeping in with the foreign shinobi that could be increasingly spotted. There was a meeting today but as always... Kakashi was late. Really late. They would have been _angry_ and _worked up_ about it... but that would have required moving... which they really did not want to do as of this moment.

A fly landed on Naruto's nose. "Go away, little fly.... it's too hot too even move to shoo you away," she had taken off her jacket, revealing a black shirt and a flat chest. After _that night_ where Sasuke had found out about her secrets and they'd shared their first... _kiss_... if could even be called that (she still wanted to punch something when she thought about it... but it was too hot really), she had taken to wrapping her chest up so that no one would be able to tell unless they cut the bandages off for whatever reason. Usually she forgot about it... But today, she was regretting almost... All it seemed to do was trap the heat in that area. She was almost willing to go out in the open about her gender if it meant that she would be able to be just the _slightest. bit. cooler._ She growled half heartedly.

"God... When is Kakashi-sensei going to be here?! He's actually later than his customary three hours...! And it's so hot!" Sakura took a gulp of water, making a face when discovering that it had gone warm.

"...." There was no response from Sasuke but his teammates knew him enough by now that they were able to put words into his mouth.

"Right. So when he gets here, you'll use some fire jutsu at him and burn him alive for making us wait on this hot, hot day? Good, teme."

"..." He didn't say such a thing. To do so would require him to _move_, possibly out into the sun... where he might get sunburned... Fuck. No.

"Glad you agree!"

"... Fuck you."

Sakura and Naruto shared a grin before going back to internally mourning the hot whether.

"And to think, if he'd just get here sooner, we might be able to move to a place with _air conditioning_ or at least a fan," Sakura commented with a frown. "Some watermelons would be nice too..."

"Ice cream... I've always wanted to try some ice cream," the usually chipper blond commented quietly, drawing attention from her teammates. Sakura's eyes widened in surprise.

"EH!? You've never had _ice cream_ before?!"

The crossdresser let out a half grin before lightly shaking her head. "Nah. That would've required money I don't have." _'No one would let me buy one anyway... and who would I eat it with? Part of the fun is eating it with someone....'_

The pink haired genin frowned. "Okay! It's decided then! After this meeting, you, me and Sasuke-kun are going out to but ice cream! I'll pay!"

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed, excited. "You really mean it! You'll buy me- I mean, us - ice cream!" She let out an exuberant smile when she received a nod. "Thank you, Sakura-chan!"

"Hn... Thanks."

They rolled their eyes at the Uchiha's antics. He'd been increasingly sulky ever since their encounter with the sand trio. Sakura sent a small smile at the raven haired genin. "However reluctant you made it sound, Sasuke-kun, I'll accept it at face value and say 'You're welcome.'"

"Hn."

POOF!

"Yo! Sorry, I got lost on the road of life." Kakashi gave a victory sign before noticing that his slaves - oh I'm sorry, I mean, _students_ - were being unusually quiet today. He raised an eyebrows as he spotted them laying around lazily under a shady tree.

Naruto glanced at Sakura before looking once more at their teacher. "He's not getting any ice cream right?"

Sakura snorted. "Of course not. He made us wait for four hours in this heat. He's only lucky that I got today's training off."

"Hn." This was, of course, from our ever sulking Sasuke.

Kakashi almost pouted at how they were acting as though he wasn't there. "Ah well... I guess you wouldn't want _this,_" he sighed, waving about three pieces of paper. Naruto's eyes hypnotically followed their movements.

"What are they...?"

".... You're entrance to the Chuunin Exams."

All three heads perked up upon hearing this - all eyes centered on the three scraps of paper. Naruto's hand rose up as her eyes narrowed at him. "Give me," she demanded, not getting up.

The gravity defying haired jounin raised an eyebrow, eyes glittering with sadistic glee. "And why should I? I mean, my own team, too lazy to get up and ignoring me! Do they really deserve to attend the Chuunin Exams?" He stared off into the distance, had on his mouth and eyes filled with fake tears. "Oh woe is-"

"You're being stupid. We know that's fake. We're not _that_-"

"Ah! Kakashi-sensei! Don't cry!" Naruto shouted, finally getting up and fretting over the jounin. "Come on! If you really want, you can come get ice cream with us! You just have to pay for yourself!"

"-stupid," Sakura finished, sweatdropping. "I guess I spoke too soon," she sighed, rubbing her forehead tiredly.

"Dobe," Sasuke muttered, shaking his head with a small smile.

Kakashi grinned happily, patting the Naruto on the head. "Why thank you, Naruto! As a reward.. here's you go!"

Naruto held up the piece of paper reverently, look as if she held the meaning of life within her grasp. Grinning, she began to read. "Name: Uzumaki Naruto. Teammates: Sakura, Sasuke. Leader: Kakashi. Mission... Hey! Wait a moment! This is a mission! Kakashi-sensei!"

She whirled around only to find that he had disappeared, leaving a note behind.

_Dear team...._

_You'll be pleased to note... You _are_ actually_

_nominated for the Chuunin Exam. But, to_

_receive further information (such as where _

_to go), you'll have to do a series of tasks... _

_Have fun. I'll join you for that ice cream_

_ outing next time._

_-Your beloved sensei, Kakashi_

"I want to kill him," Naruto growled, crumbling up the note. "No... I _will_ kill him!"

* * *

_The Day of the Chuunin Exam..._

(A/N: I would have put in the whole Sakura wondering if she's strong enough thing... but then, that's already in the show and I didn't want to rewrite it... So just know that it happened okay?)

"Sakura-chan! You made it!" Naruto grinned, happy. "Don't worry! Whatever happens in there, I'll protect you from all harm!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah! I can protect myself. And besides... _someone_ needs heal all your scrapes." The blond chucked sheepishly. "Where's Sasuke-kun anyway?"

"The teme? He's-"

"Right behind you."

"EEEEEEEK!" Naruto jumped, spinning around and clutching her shirt. "Teme! Don't _scare_ me like that!"

He rolled his eyes. "A good shinobi would've sensed me," he replied, turning around to walk towards the building. "How are you supposed to - what was it - 'protect Sakura from all harm' if you couldn't even sense me sneaking up on you?"

"You heard that?!" Both female members of the team blushed. He let out a sigh.

"You shouted it out for the whole world to hear. Of course I heard it. Now let's go."

Shrugging off her previous embarrassment, Naruto let out a happy yell, grabbing a laughing Sakura by the arm and chasing after their stuck up teammate. "HELL YEAH! LET'S GO WHOOP SOME BUTTS!"

Two stories later, they met up with a crowd of genins. "What the hell? Why won't they let us in?"

"Friggin bullies."

"Hey!"

"Ouch! That's gotta hurt."

They exchanged curious glance before looking up. Room 302... Sakura blinked before deadpanning, having immediately figured out that it was a genjutsu... a crappy one at that. _'You've got to be kidding me... this is _such_ a crappy genjutsu! It looks so hastily put together and it's so weak! It would only trick you if you looked at the numbers which most people wouldn't since its the second floor! I bet it could even be broken with a simple disruptive-'_

Sasuke snorted, recognizing the trick. Naruto? Well... she ignored it all together and just looked at the fight.

"Hey! Hey! Is that bushy-brows?!" She shouted, jumping up and down for a better view.

"Stop it," Sasuke commanded, hold her by the head in order to keep her from jumping. "If you want to get a better view, walk up the wall. You're a shinobi for god's sakes."

"Oh yeah." Naruto chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. "Forgot about that for a while."

Sakura smiled at their relationship, feeling a bit lonely but easily tossing it aside, before looking for a better view herself. Straining her neck, she was able to see the slightest bit of green. And was that? Probably... Hmmm... just a little more...

She let out a small squeak as she was suddenly lifted up by the waist. "Sasuke-kun?!"

He scowled. "Don't think anything of it. I was just getting annoyed and I didn't think you wanted to climb the walls like a certain dobe. Besides, you have less chakra than him and so you might need to preserve it."

"Ah..." She blushed happily, warmth spreading through her chest. She wasn't forgotten and that made her happy. Looking once more, she was easily able to spot Lee fighting with what seemed to be two senpai. Her brows furrowed. Eh?

"OOOOIIIII! Bushy brows! How're you doing!"

The green clad figure looked up before letting out an exuberant yell. "Naruto-san! How wondrous it is to see your youth pouring out of you! I see You've made it into the Chuunin Exam! But onto other, more important matters... Where is the beautiful Sakura-san?!" He began looking around at the gather crowd frantically before spotting the shock of pink sticking out of the crowd. He let out a wide grin. "Sakura-san!"

Naruto turned as well, looking for her teammates. She found them much quicker than Lee and was able to see Sasuke holding up Sakura from her vantage point. A frown adorned her face as, for some unexplainable reason, a pang of heaviness settled over her heart. It was becoming hard to breathe... What... What was... Dizziness began to settle over her and for a brief moment, she lost focus and the chakra supply to her feet stopped. It was only a second but that's all that was needed before she fell. Right on top of a certain Hyuuga.

_'Well... at least it wasn't the teme this time... because he's all the way over there,'_ she thought to herself as she let out a yell. She thought she felt her heart clench as she thought about Sasuke holding Sakura up. But that didn't make sense... _'Why... why does it hurt so much...?'_

_

* * *

_**A/N**: ... Well what do you know... we've actually _moved up_ in terms of Sasuke and Naruto's relationship... A miracle has happened! XD.... Too be honest... I have no clue where most of this chapter came from... But yeah... I was planning on going further too... but then I added in that ending scene and i though it woud be soooooo much fun to leave you there! and so i did. And since the NaruSasu thing is starting to get a go on a little bit... I've decided... Equivalent Exchange! MWahahaha... Now I wonder if people understand why I don't like FMA... XDD (It's not really for that reason...)

**Q**: What kind of excuse is that?! (Was in regards to my previous answer last chapter...)

**A: _.... _**_I guess a really bad one? Meh.. I thought it made sense... She was in shock... And I'm pretty sure that I put in chapter 10 that she wasn't aware of anything... It wasn't until they got to Wave that they snapped out of it. So from after the bridge incident to when they came back to Konoha... She doesn't actually remember anything.... It was like... a seriously muffled few days for her thats really blurry... if that makes any sense... Hope that clears it up a bit and explains it better...._

Soo... Did you like it? Hate it? Are utterly confused by some things? Tell me! (in a review) It'll be a nice birthday present! (Cause my birthday is tomorrow: May 24). I thought I'd get it out just before my birthday but had trouble finding time to write sadly... So here it is... at 9 PM... Oh! And you wont have a reason not to review (if you've been there since the beginning) since... you know... I've finally gotten past the old chapters...

Edit 5/24: Right... So I just realized that I _totally_ to add in the team's trials for entrance into the Chuunin Exam. Sooo... with that HUGE mistake... I've decided to make a companion fic consisting of drabbles and oneshot for "missing" scenes. Meaning scenes that I've forgotten to add for whatever reason or scenes that I felt would work for specific chapters but i thought you'd enjoy. I'm not sure when it'll actually come out but watch out for it! :D


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary**: For her, she'd be willing to do anything... even give up her femininity. She'd be willing to be a guy... no matter what. All for her... Too bad Sasuke won't leave her be.

**Disclaimer**: Yeah... I own Naruto and that's why I'm writing a _fan fiction_ in which Naruto is a girl instead of just creating a whole new series. And its also why i'm writing a narusasu fanfiction instead of just making it the canon pairing of the series... yup. In other words.... I don't own it.

**AN**: Ha ha... About that long wait... What can I say? Exams got in the way! However, I recently got told NMW was getting too cliched... Ha ha... (scratches head) hence the poll in my profile (it's for my self-esteem... which is quickly plummeting). eh... I guess I could see where you're coming from... Hmm... maybe I should take a month long retreat to recover from my shock? (dodges spoons and forks) Jk! But seriously... I _will_ **be gone for a month from July 2nd to August 8th**. I'm going to Korea for those days so you probably shouldn't expect an update from me... (winces)

* * *

**No Matter What**

_Chapter 13_

"Sakura-san!"

Sakura gave a strained smile at the exhuberant male before trying to get a clear view of what was happening once more. "Ah. Lee-san. Ne, Sasuke-kun. Do you think you could lift me a little bit higher?"

"What the hell am I, you packhorse?" he muttered under his breath, raising his arms a few inches higher. She _really_ wasn't as light as she made herself out to be. Not that he would ever tell her that.

His eyes turned sparkly. "The lovely Sakura-san has remembered my undeserving name! How wonderous and _youthful_ today is!"

Sakura turned her attention, beginning to get creeped out. "Ah ha... riiiiiight.... Anyways. Lee-san! What's going on over there?"

"Ah. These unyouthful genins are forbidding us from entering the exam center. How unforgiveable!" His eyes burned with passion at the injustice once more. "I was just about to show these unyouthful people a lesson when Naruto-san caught my attention and I saw _you-_"

"AAAAAAAAHHH!"

_Thump!_

The crowd surrounding team Gai cleared up, giving Sakura and Sasuke clear views of certain events... such the dizzy Naruto who _still_ had yet to get off of a certain Hyuuga Neji. Sasuke's finger twitched just the slightest bit.

_'That dobe. How long is she going to stay like that?' _He scowled.

Meanwhile, Naruto had conveniently forgotten that she was lying on top of someone as she pondering on that strange heavy feeling. _'Hmm... What was that? Was it that thing that old people get sometimes? What was it again...? Heart... heart stomach? Nah, that doesn't even make sense. Heart kunai? No no... It would be more sharp then... Heart burn? I don't think so... Hmm.. Maybe it was-'_

".... Get off."

"Huh?!" Her head snapped up as the voice broke through her thoughts.

"..... Get. Off."

Her brows furrowed. Geez, what was up _this_ asshole's ass? She could almost detect a small sense of Sasuke-esque-cold-bastardly-fuck-off-ness. But it was different. Less... Hmm... Why the hell was she thinking about this any way?

"Get off me, you ret-"

"How long are you going to stay laying on him, Naruto?!" Sasuke bit out, eyes smoldering just the slightest bit. Naruto snapped out of her daze upon hearing his snarky voice. A scowl adorned her face as she lifted herself up to face him, all thoughts of her earlier pain disappearing without a trace.

"Teme! What the hell is your problem anyway?! And who the hell are you talking about?! I'm not _on_ anybody!"

The surrounding people looked at the orange clad shinobi with disbelieving eyes. How could she not notice the person she was currently sitting on!? A vein twitched just above her teammate's eye.

"Look below you before you talk, idiot!"

She gave a quick glance down below her, her scowl growing ever larger. "I did! See there's no one down..." She blinked before glancing below her where the floor _should_ be... but wasn't. Narrowing her eyes at the glowering face, she held out a finger and poked him before looking up at the Uchiha once again. "Oi. I won't fall for that trick again! This is a genjutsu isn't it?! You know, bastard, you've got some nerve if-"

She fell flat on her face before she was able to complete her accusations. The male below her had gotten tired of waiting and thrown her off of him.

"I'm surprised that fate has allowed an idiot such as you into the exam," he commented arrogantly, milky white eyes becoming as cold as the antarctic. "You should at least be able to know a genjutsu when you see one if you were to enter this exam. You should just quit. Fate is has declared you incapable of being promoted."

Just a bit behind Sasuke, Sakura fists clenched. It was one thing for her and Sasuke-kun to insult Naruto. It was one thing for enemies like Zabusa to insult him and, by extension, them. It was completely another for _this asshole_ to insult her teammate and tell him to _quit_ - tell _them_ to quit, really. Though... he _was, _admittedly, acting quite idiotic. Still! It was unacceptable. Especially when...

"Hey! Who do you think you are to talk so high and mighty when you and your teammates weren't able to even see that genjutsu on the room number?!" she shouted, scowling fiercely at the Hyuuga slightly. Being teamed with the Uchiha had to have _some_ benefits didn't it? Learning how to scowl properly was just one of them. "We're on the _second_ floor. Why would the numbers be 302? Like _you're_ one to talk about recognizing genjutsu! And to think! You're a Hyuuga at that!"

Murmurs spread through the crowd. 302? Second floor? Was it really a genjutsu? Embarrassment colored a few people's cheeks. The Hyuuga just glared at her. "I knew so from the very beginning. It is just that my teammate-"

Naruto let out a barking laughter. "Don't try to save face now, asshole! It ain't gonna work! If I should quit the exam for not recognizing a genjutsu, shouldn't you as well? At least _I _thought you might've been some uber high class genjutsu! You fell for a low level one!" Not that she could talk really... She hadn't been able to tell either. Her teammates sweatdropped behind her, aware of this knowledge.

Sakura let out a sigh at her blond teammate's hypocrisy and boastful nature. However, it's not as though she'd change it. It _was _to their benefit this time after all....

"Come on, Naruto. We should go to the _correct _room. No need to stay with these-"

"Prickly Sasuke-esque bastards?" Naruto suggested, interrupting the pink-head.

Her eye twitched at the interrupted. "Not quite how I would put it. But sure. Except worse. Sasuke-kun isn't that bad."

They both tripped as a glowering Uchiha walked past them. Glancing at each other, they let out a laugh.

* * *

_A few minutes outside the exam room..._

Kakashi raised an eyebrow as his team walked towards him, two of them snickering at the other, which, for once, was not Naruto. "All three of you came. Good job. If one of you hadn't... well... All three would have failed." He smiled at them, one eye curving happily.

They gaped at him. "You... you... You lied! AGAIN!" Naruto shouted, pointing at her sensei. "You stupid, always late, always lying-"

He laughed good naturedly, patting the blond on the head. "Hai hai! Though it's funny you should be saying that since I've actually arrived before you this time."

This made all of team seven freeze, eyes wide. They were... later? Than Kakashi-sensei? He pushed them into the room with a snicker. Ah... sometimes it was good to be early every now and then.

They stood immobile at the entrance before glancing at each other with disbelief. A pause before... "NO WAY!"

The shout rang throughout the room, attracting all sorts of unwanted attention. However, none of them noticed.

"Sasuke-kun!!" The exclamation was directly followed by a glomp from the blond president of the Uchiha Sasuke fanclub. That is, one Yamanaka Ino. "You're late! I was waiting_ forever!_"

Sakura stared at her "rival" in pity. _'I wonder if I should tell her that he's gay for Naruto of all people? Nah... she wouldn't believe me...' _She blinked when the blond actually willing got of the Uchiha without even being prompted to.

"Huh? You guys are taking this troublesome test too? Don't die," Shikamaru flippantly commented, slouching his way over to the ever growing group, Chouji following after him.

Naruto grinned at them. "Ah! It's the idiot trio!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes at the crossdresser. "You shouldn't be one to talk. You're stupider than us."

This comment earned him a raspberry. She opened her mouth to reply but was cut off.

"Yahoo! Found you!"

"H-hello..."

"..."

Kiba grinned at the six fellow rookies grouped together. "Well well... Seems everyone is assembled! And without us too!" He let out a dramatic and obviously fake sniff.

"Troublesome. You three are here too?"

"I see all nine of this year's rookies are taking the exam. I wonder how far we'll get, eh Sasuke?"

The Uchiha raised an eyebrow at the confident Inuzuka. "You seem pretty-"

"Gah! Obnoxious overload! Obnoxious overload!" Naruto shouted, covering her ears with her hands. Kiba scowled at her.

"Last time I checked, you weren't called Sasuke, _Naruto_! Who the hell asked for your opinion anyway, dead last?!"

"_Well-_"

"Hey. You guys should be more quiet," a calm voice suggested, footsteps steadily approaching them. A white haired teenager with glasses was walking over to them. Naruto squinted at him. Premature graying? "Screaming like premature preschoolers. You guys are just out of the academy aren't you?" The teen chuckled, raising the ire of the nine quickly.

"Who the hell are you?!" Naruto scowled.

He raised an eyebrow good naturedly. "I'm Kabuto. But disregarding that... I'd take a look behind you."

Their brows furrowed in confusion. Behind them? They turned around only to be frozen by the intensity of the killing intent directed at them by their fellow examinees. A wide variety of nins from different hidden villages were glaring at them. However, a particular trio with a kitai-ate consisting of three dashes stood out.

"Those guys behind you are from the hidden rain. They have pretty nasty tempers so I'd quiet down before you cause a scene. Everyone's pretty nervous about the exam."

The rookies gulped nervously, unnerved by their glares. "A-ah."

"Well... can't say I blame you. You remind me of how I used to be."

Sakura's brows furrowed. "Ka... buto-san.... right?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"You said 'how I used to be'. Does this mean that this is your second time?"

The white haired genin shook his head sheepishly. "No. It's my seventh." Several of the rookies choked. Seventh?! Was this exam that hard?! "This exam is held twice a year so this is my fourth year."

"So you must know quite a bit about the exam," Ino commented eyeing him interestedly.

Shikamaru shook his head muttering under his breath, "He can't be that knowledgable if he's screwed up so many times."

Kabuto smiled at the blond. "I'll show you guys something good." He pulled out a set of cards. "These are my special nin info cards. If you infuse them with chakra they'll show you information that I've burned into them."

The pink-head of team seven eyed them with scruntity. "Wow.. Nin info cards huh?"

"I have four years of information on these cards." He caressed with the care of a mother and her newborn baby, earning him more than a few strange stares.

"Do you have information on certain individuals?"

"Depends. Have anyone in mind?" He smirked.

Scowling, Sasuke answered. "Subaku no Gaara." After a moment's pause, he added, "some Hyuuga as well."

The surrounding genin deadpanned just a bit. "Some Hyuuga as well"? Like that really helps! Kabuto let out an amused chuckle. "Any other helpful clues?"

"He's about a year older than us."

Behind them, Hinata furrowed her brows. A year older than them? The only person that she could think of was... "Neji-niisan?"

The people crowded around her whipped their heads, surprised to hear her talking. She was usually quiet and shy and spoke with a stutter. So to hear her speak fluently was a bit of a surprise to some. "Wow! Hyuuga-san! You spoke without a stutter!" Naruto stared at her with eyes wide with delighted surprise. "So you _can_ speak normally!"

Hinata's face turned bright red with embarrassment, even as Sakura bashed Naruto's head in hopes of cramming _some_ manners into him. "Naruto! Don't be so rude!"

"B-but! Sakura-chan!"

"No!"

Behind them, the others were consumed with the cards. "Hmm... Well, let's just start with who we already know.... Subaku no Gaara... Mission history: C rank - 8, B rank - 1. Wow, a B rank mission as a genin," he hummed under his breath, slightly impressed. "He's a newcomer from a foreign country so I don't have a whole lot of information on him but it seems that he's returned from all his missions without even a scratch."

More than a few of the rookie nine gulped upon hearing this information. Not a scratch?! Not even from a B rank mission? And he's a genin?!

"As for that Hyuuga. He's about the same age as you correct?" Kabuto asked Sasuke, recieving a nod. "Right. Well then-"

"Hey! These things are pretty cool!" With a grin, Naruto swiped the cards out of his hands and poured chakra into a number of them. "Let's see... Hmm? Hey! It's bushy-brows!"

"NARUTO!" Sakura chided, embarrassment written on her face. "Give that back! It's rude to take something without asking!"

With her proverbial tail between her legs, Naruto gazed at her protectee with large, puppy eyes. "But I want to play with them! They're like trading cards! But cooler! See!" She held up a card. "Look look! This dude's from grass! He-" She cut herself off, staring at the card with wide eyes.

Leaning over her shoulders, Kiba let out a low whistle. "Damn. That dude's insane. Five A class missions?! As a genin?!"

Kabuto shook his head, walking past the frozen genin and gently pulled his nin info cards out of Naruto's hands. "People from all the hidden villages send their genin here. The best and the brightest. Leaf, Sand, Rain, Grass, Waterfall, Sound..." He furrowed his eyebrows. "There isn't much information on Hidden Sound since they're fairly new and a minor village but I can say that there are bound be monster powerhouses somewhere within this room."

Sakura let out a sigh. "Makes you lose your confidence a bit." She took a peek at her blond teammate only to find her shaking slightly with what seemed to be fear. Her eyes softened as she took in the sight of the usually overly confident and boisterous blond. It wasn't like Naruto to be so subdued. It felt... _wrong_. Taking a deep breath and pasting on a smile, she walked up to her teammate and lifted up her hand to pat his back in comfort. "Hey Naruto! Cheer up! We'll do-"

"OI! ALL YOU BASTARDS LISTEN UP!" Naruto shouted, shooting into action just as Sakura's hand was about to descend. "MY NAME'S UZUMAKI NARUTO! AND I'LL BE BEATING YOUR ASSES!"

The pink-haired genin felt her eye twitch. Her fist clenched and, a moment later, met Naruto's cranium with a resounding force. More than a few people winced in sympathy for the loud and obnoxious blond. _'And to think! I was about to comfort the idiot too!'_

A little farther off, Sasuke watched the proceedings with amusement. He was confident in his abilities as well as in his teammates. They'd be able to get through this. Which was why he hadn't made a move to cheer up the blond. He knew she was more resiliant than that. However, seeing her stupidity bring about punishment from her oh-so-precious-Sakura-chan (not that he hated Sakura... At least... not anymore...) was more than just a bit satisfying. One might even say that it was his indirect reveng for all the names and humiliation she's made him suffer recently. He smirked.

Meanwhile, in the crowd, a team of sound nins viewed the group with ill conceiled contempt. "The hidden sound is a minor village? Is that so?"

"Let's _play_ with them a little bit...."

"Heh. Good idea. Let the bastard add to his data that Hidden sound nin can be quite... _viscious_..."

With that they spurred into action.

Back with the group, Shikamaru stared at the idiotic blond with narrowed, disbelieving eyes. Sure he knew that she was stupid but... that stupid?! "'I'll be beating your asses'? Tch. Troublesome. You just made an enemy out of everyone in this room," he commented, sighing.

"I apologize for my teammate!" Sakura shouted to the glaring occupants of the room. "He's a bit of an idiot. Just joking... Ha ha ha....!" She scratched the back of head sheepishly, taking time every now and then to glare at the fallen form on the ground.

Kabuto let out a chuckle at their interactions. "Geez," he sighed. His eyes narrowed as his ears picked up quick movement. Moments later, a shinobi from the Hidden Sound shot up into the air with an insane grin. He moved just quickly enough to dodge the two kunais that were sent his way. His eyes widened and he jerked in shock as a face appeared, inches from his face. Sensing the swipe of the arm that was coming his way, he instinctively shifted his body backwards, managing to dodge it by the shave of his nose.

Sasuke smirked as he watched the proceedings. _'Good dodge_.'

It came as a shock when, seconds later, Kabuto's glasses cracked and he fell to his knees, barfing.

"What the hell?! He dodge it! How?!"

"Kabuto-san! Are you alright?!"

The three Sound genins looked at them with contempt oozing out of their pores.

"Yeah... I'm fine."

Everyone looked at the Sound team in confusion. How had they... The three smirked simultaneously. "How pathetic. You're a four year veteran aren't you?" the leader of the three jeered mockingly. "Write this down in your precious little cards. 'The three hidden Sound ninjas: definite chuunin.'"

Naruto glared at them, anger pouring off her. "Why you little, slimy-"

A loud "BANG!" echoed throughout the room in a cloud of smoke, cutting her off. "What the-"

"QUIET DOWN YOU LITTLE WORTHLESS BASTARDS!" The smoke cleared away, revealing a hoard of chuunin and jounin standing in the front of the room confidently. "Morino Ibiki: the examiner for the Chuunin Exam's first test." The examinees looked at the group with wide eyes. "You Sound over there. Quit it! Wanna get disqualified before we even begin...?"

He gazed at them coolly. The sound team nodded their heads, acquitting to his demands.

"We understand. Sorry. It's our first time. We just got a little... excited."

Ibiki rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah. Don't pee in you pants. There is no fighting allowed unless you have permission from me. And even if you do, no killing is allowed. Disobey me and you'll be failed immediately. Now, line up in a single file. You'll be taking one of these tabs," here he held up one with the number one on it, "and will sit in their respective seats. We will then pass out your exams to you."

"Eh?!" Naruto yelped. "A PAPER EXAM?!"

Robotically, she followed the directions and ended up far away from her team members. So involved in her shock, she didn't notice Hinata until after Ibiki started to talk once more to explain directions._ 'This is impossible for Naruto,'_ was the general consent of the Konoha rookies.

"Now, there are many important rules to this test. I'll write them on the board as I explain them so listen carefully. No questions are allowed. The first rule: You will have ten points to start with. Each question is worth a point. However, this test runs on a subtraction system. So, say you miss three questions, you would then lose thre points and will be left with 7 points."

In her seat, Naruto paid as much attention as possible, nodding her head in understanding. _'So all wrong will be zero points_.'

"The second rule is that this is a team test. Whether or not you pass will depend on the team's combined points. Each tam will compete to see how many points they can hold from the intial team total of thirty."

Sakura's brows furrowed. "Wait a minute! Why's it a team test!?"

"Shut up!" Ibiki glared at her. "I said no questions! Now, the third rule is that if you are caught cheating, then you will be subracted two points for every time you're caught. Those who lose all their points will be asked to leave."

Sakura closed her eyes in an attempt to calm herself. _'Calm down... Even if Naruto doesn't get a point, as long as me and Sasuke-kun do well, we'll be fine.'_

"And the final rule," Ibiki grinned maliciously, "is that those who lose their initial points and those who fail to get any points will be disqualified along with their two teammates."

All of team seven froze, unable to believe what they had just heard.

_'... I'll kill her. If we fail because of her.... I'll choke her to death.'_

_'Naruto... You better make a goddamn point or else you'll never see the light of day! I'll use you as my freaking test dummy!'_

_'........ Fuck.'_

_

* * *

_**A/N**: so yeah..... There you go. A bit shorter than the last chapter despite the longer period of time it took me to write. I was going to add in the whole exam but I thought... Hey! I wanna end it on a cliffhanger before I leave for Korea! So yeah! Prolong the first exam as long as possible! XD JK. But I _may_ end up leaving it on a cliffhanger. :P But yeah... It wasn't all that different from canon. It probably _won't_ be differing from canon until the second exam... Seriously... things go totally differ there. Hint hint. lol.

**Q**: Will there be any Naruto pairings besides the SasufemNaru and the NaruSaku thing?

**A**: ..._ erm... As far as I'm aware... nothing that's mutual. They'd either all be in Sasuke's head, one sided or non-existant...._

**Q**: Who did Naruto fall on?

**A**:_ Neji. She fell on Neji._

So there you go. Hopefully, since I've finally gotten on Summer vacation I'll be able to update more. So keep rooting for me okay? I may actually post _long_ chapters every week until the 2nd if you do! (Note: Rooting means Reviewingto me... Though I _really_ shouldn't be complaining.. you guys that do are great! :D)


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary**: For her, she'd be willing to do anything... even give up her femininity. She'd be willing to be a guy... no matter what. All for her... Too bad Sasuke won't leave her be.

**standard disclaimers apply**

**A/N: **Don't you hate it when you have no computer access...? oTL (sighs) but yeah. sorry for the LONG LONG wait. The reason for this? Shock over exam scores, computer problems, out of the country, jet lag, readjusting to normal school schedule, etc. Any of them would work. but yeah... Once again... sorry for the long wait... To make it worse... a lot of this chapter is manga stuff too... AARRRRGHH! (breaks down from guilt)

9/18/09: The second half has been added!

**

* * *

**

**No Matter What**

_chapter 14_

Time was ticking by faster and faster and she STILL had no clue as to how to answer ANY of these questions. And she really did mean the "any" bit. She'd know - she'd actually gone through the whole test looking for a question she might have SOME possibility of answering correctly. She had combed through the test question by question and had felt her hope fall more and more with each passing line. She'd even seriously considered cheating off of someone next to her but quickly tossed that idea aside when a kunai whizzed by her nose, embedding itself right in front of a genin two desks away. It was the first of a series of kunai tosses and disqualifications. What made it worse were the two pairs of glaring eyes that bore murderous holes in the back of her head now and then.

She clutched her short hair strands in aggrevation, glaring resentfully at the paper. Lips jutting out in a pout, she couldn't help but wonder why the HELL ninjas had to do a written exam. Couldn't they at least make it multiple choice? At least THEN, she had a 25 percent chance of passing instead of this 0.0001 percent chance.

Sucking in a deep breath, she look forward resolutely. Looks like she had no choice - she'd have to rely on that 0.0001 percent chance of success and hope she'd be able to answer the last question. Besides, she'd mide it out of sticky stiuations with lower chances of success before - that whole wave mission being an example. Team of genin on their first C-rank mission and one Hatake Kakashi against Momochi Zabusa, his apprentice who happens to have a blood line, Gatou and whatever mercenaries he happened to hire? The likelihood that they would have made it through alive, let alone actually _complete_ the mission, was extremely low - even _with_ Kakashi-sensei. But, even still, they did it. Why should this be any different?

Beside the Uzumaki, Hinata twiddled with her thumbs as she glanced at her ex-crush nervously through the side of her eyes. Yes, ex-crush. Despite the popular belief of many, Hyuuga Hinata did not harbor a deep, secret, burning passion for the Kyuubi vessel. That's not to say that she didn't have one somewhere in her childhood...

It was a young and nervously excited Hinata who had stood in front of a just as young and excited blond. It had been one of those rare times that the boys and girls got to spar with one another in an "anything-except-killing-or-maiming-goes" match and Hinata had been the one chosen to fight the Kyuubi vessel.

Of course she'd been. At that period in time, Umino Iruka had yet to become an academy teacher and was loyally serving under one Hatake Kakashi in ANBU. Their teacher, one Mizushima Kei, had been one of those who chose to subtly sabotage the Uzumaki's shinobi career in hopes of crippling _it_ with low self-esteem. And the results had started to show. All her failures had begun to pile up on her, from her failing the latest test to her inability to help Sakura with her relationship with Ino. Any more and she probably would have cracked.

So it was with malicious glee that Mizushima Kei had decided to pair to two. After all, the Hyuuga heir verses the Kyuubi brat? The Hyuuga would _obviously_ win - no doubt about it. It had been unfortunate for him that he was lacking in some knowledge. The Hyuuga's then crush on the Uzumaki and said crush's true gender for example.

Thus it had come as a great shock when Hinata had gotten into her family stance after a deep focusing breath, turned on her Byakuugan, promptly let out a loud gasp and fainted dead away.

Naruto had won that spar thus restoring her confidence and Hinata was shocked out of her crush upon the discovery of the blonde's true gender. It had been with quiet eyes that Hinata observed the Uzumaki since then, turning whatever was left of her crush into an ever growing admiration and need to do better with every selfless deed Naruto committed in order to help Sakura.

But back to the present. Hinata twiddled her thumbs nervously as she glanced at her ex-crush through the corner of her eyes, having finished her exam long ago. It was a little known fact that Hinata had acutally done just as well as, if not better than, Sakura at the academy. It was only because she failed to pay attention in the days that followed the "fainting incident" that Sakura won the smartest kunoichi of the year title. She lacked the knowlege taught in those preceding weeks - knowledge that was covered on the genin test. And, thus, she earned second place.

As Naruto pulled at her hair in frustration, Hinata looked down at her completed paper, contemplating whether or not to give her the answers. But as she was about to do so, memories of back then poured into her head and she remembered the hard work Naruto put into everything she'd done. From working to pass the the classes to protecting Sakura to the best of her ability (she still didn't understand the exact reason for it. It was this hard-working trait of hers, however, that won her admiration). She always did her best and weathered through her troubles.

It was with that thought that Hinata turned the paper over. She'd do fine. She was Uzumaki Naruto after all. The no. 1 most surprising shinobi Konoha had ever nurtured.

* * *

"It is now time for the tenth and final question," Ibiki began, analytical eyes sweeping the Chuunin candidates. It was this portion that would reveal whether or not they had the potential to survive the upcoming days. Anko was next after all. And while he may torture the mind, it was her who he partnered with when more... unsavory methods were needed. He paused for a bit letting them freak out for a bit.

_'Come on... Come on... Just hurry it up already!'_

_'Let it be an easy question! Let it be an easy question! Let it be an easy question! I need an easy question! Come on, Lady Luck! I know I've tossed my feminity aside but have mercy on me! I don't want to die by whatever cruel methods my teammates may procur should they fail because of me!'_

_'Almost over...'_

"Now... before we go over it, I'd like to go over some added rules for this question..."

Everyone in the room straightened up and sharpened their eyes. Added rules? A few grimaced. Based on the aura around the man, these "rules" probably wouldn't be pretty...

"First, you must choose whether or not to take it," He gazed at them with hooded eyes, causing a shiver to go up their spines.

"C-choose? What happens if we don't take it?"

"If you don't take it, your points with be reduced to zero and you'll fail... Along with your two teammates."

A genin stood up in his anger. "What kind of shit is that? Of course we'll be staying then!"

He glared menacingly at the boy, causing him to sit down abruptly. Coolly, he leaned back against the wall before continuing. "There's more. Secondly, if you choose to take this question and _fail_ to answer it correctly... You'll lose your privilege to take the Chuunin Exam again."

"What kind of shit is that?" Kiba stood up angrily, slamming his hands against the desk. "There are other people who've repeated the test!"

Ibiki chuckled. "You guys were unlucky. I'm the instructor this year and it's _my_ rules. Luckily, I'm giving you guys a way out. Those who aren't confident that they can choose not to take it and try again next year. Now, the tenth question. Those who wish to not take it, raise your hand and once your number is confirmed, you're free to leave."

_'If... I choose not to take it... Sakura and Sasuke will probably kill me... But... if I choose to take it and become an eternal genin... Sakura-chan might move to a place where I can't protect her... Sasuke... will probably be the same...' _Naruto clutched her pencil tightly. _'What... what should I do?'_

Silence reigned for a moment before...

"I won't take it! I'm sorry... but I just can't..."

"No. 50 fail!"

With wide eyes, Naruto turned to stare at the genin next to her. Slowly, one number after another was called out. Team after team walked out the door.

_'They all... refused to take the test... They would probably forgive me if I raised my hand... Maybe...' _Slowly, ever so shakily, her hand started to rise in the air. Behind her, her teammates started staring at that hand with wide eyes.

_'Naruto?'_

The hand clenched into a fist before slamming down onto the table. "Don't underestimate me! I won't run! Not anymore! Even if I'm a genin, I'll _still_ become that damn BEST ninja there is and I'll still be able to accomplish my goals. So stop fucking around with us, you asshole! I'm not afraid!"

_'But... even if they'd forgive me... I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself. Besides...' _Her hand throbbed with a phantom pain. _'I decided to stop freezing up and running away back then... Didn't I, Haku?'_

Ibiki glared harshly at the Kyuubi vessel. "I'll say once more. Your life is riding on this question... Will you take it or not?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow coolly. "I said I'd stay, didn't I? I don't go back on my words."

As he looked around the room, he couldn't help but inwardly raise an eyebrow in interest. _'Interesting... Everyone's confidence is restored by the pariah of the village... 78 left... More than I expected but... well... It's Anko's turn to deal with them. Not me. Now I just have to deal with her insults.'_

"You have five seconds remaining before you will be unable to quit. Five... Four... Three... Two... One... Zero. Now, to everyone still remaining... Congratulations. You've passed the first test." He smirked upon seeing their gaping faces.

"Haa?"

"What the hell do you mean we pass?"

"What about the tenth question?"

"Aa. There was no tenth question. Or you could just say choosing whether or not to take it _was_ the tenth question."

"Then what were the other nine questions for anyway! They were pointless?"

"No. They already served their purpose - to test your individual information gathering skills. As the first rule explained, success on this test was relied on the whole team doing well. This puts pressure on each team member to not screw things up for your teammates. However, these questions were not the kind that your average genin could answer. Most of you probably came to the same conclusion: 'I'll have to cheat.' Basically, the premise of the test is to cheat."

At this, Sasuke smirked having figured it out at the beginning.

"In light of that, we had two chuunins mixed into the crowd with all the answers."

Naruto felt her eye twitch just the slightest. God dammit! She _hated_ shit like this! Why couldn't everyone just say what they wanted out loud?

"Heh. It sure was hard to find them. Right?"

"Yeah."

Naruto's fists clenched before she turned around to glare at the two genins bragging to one another about what method they used. "Oh just shut the fuck up already! The instructor is still talking and I can't hear any of the shit he's saying over your goddamn obnoxious voices! I figured it out too but you don't see _me_ bragging my ass off!"

Her teammates deadpanned. _'In other words... You didn't know any of this shit and you're annoyed.'_

Beside her, Hinata glanced at Naruto's blank paper and let out a giggle.

"But those that cheat poorly failed. Because... there are times when information is the most important thing of all..." He took off his headband, revealing the scars left over from the torture inflicted upon and drawing gasps of horror throughout the room. "And on missions and the battlefield... People risk their lives to get their hands on it. If the enemy notices you, there's no guarantee that the information you get is accurate. Remember this: Information in the right hands came be deadly. So we had you gather information through cheating which separates those with the right abilities from those without."

"... I still don't understand the tenth question..."

Ibiki smiled. "That was the true purpose of the test."

"Haa?"

"Let me explain... Those who choose not to take it fail along with their teammates. Those who do choose to take it could lose their chance to ever take it again. It's a true leap of faith. Here's a hypothetical situation. You're given a mission to steal a secret document with little to no information about the amount of ninjas, their abilities, the layout, etc. Of course, there will be tons of traps laid out before you. Do you accept or not? Because you don't want to die and you don't want your teammates to get hurt, can you refuse? The answer is **NO**. No matter what the mission, dangerous or no, there are some that you can't avoid. The ability to survive hardship and the courage to go through them - these are the qualities needed in a chuunin. Those pieces of trash that are cowardly and choose to walk out with the idea of 'there's always next year' don't deserve to be chuunin. That's how I feel!"

Despite the fact that they got the message, the members of team seven couldn't help but vaguely wonder in the back of their minds just why the upper shinobi seemed to have an obsession with trash. First, Kakashi says that those without teamwork are _lower_ that trash. Then, the Hokage keeps assigning that Tora mission _and _the "Clean Up All the Trash in This and That Goddamned Area". Now... their instructor calls all those who walked out pieces of cowardly trash. Perhaps... they were environmental freaks?

"Those who chose to answer the tenth question answered correctly and have the ability to survive through the troubles you'll face in the future. You've made it through the first exam. I wish you guys luck."

"Hell yeah!"

Suddenly a black blur burst through the window into the room. With wide eyes, the remaining genin in the room gaped. "What the?"

A large black banner covered Ibiki from sight as he sighed in exasperation and rolled in eyes. _'Anko...'_

A purple haired woman stood in front of the banner where Ibiki had stood. "You guys! This is _no time_ to be celebrating. I'm your examiner, Mitarashi Anko. Now follow me!"

The examinees just gaped at the woman.

_'... What a flashy entrance...'_

_'... How... Naruto-like...'_

Behind the banner, Ibiki glanced at her. "You have bad timing."

"... 78? 26 teams? Ibiki! Are you getting soft?"

He rolled his eyes at his sometimes partner. "There just happen to be a lot of outstanding teams."

"Tch. Outstanding teams my ass. Whatever. I'll cut them down by _at least_ half in the second test." She grinned bloodily, sending shivers up their spines.

_'... Okay... maybe not so Naruto-like!"_

"Ah... now I'm getting excited. I'll explain everything once we've changed. Now, follow me. I'm not saying it again."

After everyone had vacated the room, Ibiki began to collect the papers. However, when he reached a certain blonde's paper, he let out a laugh. The whole test was blank except for the name Uzumaki Naruto and a drawing of a boy sticking his tongue out at you. Below it were the words "I win!"

"Uzumaki Naruto... What an interesting person..."

* * *

"Welcome to the stage of the next portion of your exam, Area 44. Also known as... The Forest of Death."

Anko grinned widely as she dramatically gestured towards the wild array of large grimy trees with thick trunks that told of old age. A fence ran around them, littered with signs that clearly read, "KEEP OUT! SAFETY NOT ASSURED!" The genin gulped, taking in the blood thirsty grin of their instructer and the menacing aura the forest seemed to exhibit.

"H-here?" a random genin squeaked before clearing his throat and acting as though he had said nothing. Anko rolled her eyes.

"Yes. Here. And let me tell you, there's a reason it's called the Forest of Death."

Naruto scowled, squinting into the forest's dark depths in hopes of catching sight of what they would later face. "'And let me tell you, there's a reason it's called the Forest of Death,'" Naruto mocked, grumbling under her breath. "As if _that's_ going to scare anybody."

Naruto froze, feeling a kunai whiz past her face, causing a trail of blood to fall down her cheeks. "You're so spirited," Anko whispered into her ear, licking the blood, "but it's people like you that die the easiest..."

Moments later, Naruto caught sight of a long tongue wrapped around a kunai. An eye twitched as she slowly began to regain her bearings.

"I believe this to be yours?" a deep voice asked smoothly, uncaring of the precariously placed kunai held in the hands of their instructor. He continued as though there was no kunai pressed against his tongue. "I get so excited at the sight of blood. However, next time, please to do be careful not to cut my precious hair..."

Anko's eyes narrowed as Naruto became even more tense. "And I'd advise you not to sneak up behind me. People tend to die when they do that. Then you'd have more than you're hair to worry about."

"THAT'S IT!" Naruto burst out, twitch coming out fully. "If you insist on having this conversation, do it where my face isn't bleeding, you freaking psychotic freaks of nature! I swear! And how the hell are you able to talk with you tongue still holding a kunai?"

Everyone in the clearing turned to stare at her with raised eyebrows. She scowled at them menacingly. With a smirk, Anko prounced back to the front and began to explain the exam. "Before we begin you all have to sign this form!" she yelled out, holding out a stack of papers.

"Huh?"

"There's goning to be death," she explained, grabbing a nearby genin to pass out the forms, "and I don't want to be blamed for them. Listen up before you start signing. I'll be explaining the test and then you'll be taking your signed papers to that booth over there. Now, the second test... Simply put, you'll be attempting to get past the ultimate survival test. Practice Arena 44 has forty four gates and is shaped like a circle with a 10 km radius. In the center, there is a tower that you must reach within five days. In the forest, you'll be engaging in a no rules scroll battle. That is to say, you'll be fighting other teams for a scroll. Each team with recieve a heaven scroll or an earth scroll. I don't care what happens. You can kill. You can not kill. You can sabotage. Do whatever you want. To pass you'll need to get both scrolls and reach the tower in the five day limit. All members of your team must be alive as you reach the tower."

"What about dinner?" Chouji called out, opening up a bag of chips as he did so.

Anko shrugged, playing with a toothpick between her teeth. "You'll have to hunt for that yourselves in the forest. Also, there's no quitting in the middle. You must make it through all five days. One other thing," she said, eyes gleaming with pure, sadistic amusement, "you can't open the scrolls until you get to the tower."

"What... what happens if you do," Naruto asked warily, eying the examiner with poorly disguised mistrust.

Anko grinned widely. "That'll be a surprise to those foolish enough to do so. But in any case, that's it for the rules. Go trade in the three forms for your scroll. Then go to your gates!"

Thirty minutes later, everyone stood in front of a gate, blood rushing through their veins as the gates slowly opened. The second portion of the chuunin exam had begun.

* * *

_Five hours later, Forest of Death..._

"... I have to take a piss..."

"Naruto!" Sakura hissed, hitting the blond on the head in aggrevation. Honestly, at a time like this, in honest-to-god-we-could-actually-die situations... Naruto could come up with the stupidest _crap_ to say... Though... now that she thought about it... "Actually... I think I need to go to," Sakura muttered, blushing sheepishly.

Sasuke stared at his teammates with an incredulous face. Well, as incredulous as an Uchiha face could go, Obito not included. He shook his in exasperation before grunting. "Whatever. Go ahead."

Fifteen minutes later, Sakura came back with a wide smile. "Sasuke-kun! Guess what! I-"

"Who'd we fight on the bridge?"

"Huh?" Sakura tilted her head in confusion. "Sasuke-kun? Why're you asking me that at a time like this?"

The Uchiha stared at her unwaveringly. "I need to verify your identity."

"Oh!" The pinkhead smiled. "Zabusa-san and Haku-san!" Then her smile dropped slightly. "And... the Demon brothers..."

Sasuke nodded in acquiesce before gesturing her over. "Sorry about that. But yeah.. you were saying?"

She smiled pleasantly. "I was saying that-"

"OOOOOOOIIII! Sakura-chaaaaaaan! Te-"

"DAMMIT! WHAT IS UP WITH YOU BOTH AND INTERRUPTING ME WHEN I'M ABOUT TO GIVE GOOD NEWS?"

Sasuke was silent, inwardly sighing at the stupidity of his teammates. They were in a forest where monsters and enemy ninjas wanted to kill them... and they chose to _yell?_ Sometimes... he couldn't help but wonder if the gods hated him. Though... considering _that man_ and his seemingly growing... _something_... for Naruto... He wouldn't be all that surprised if they were.

And, as if to prove him right, a large gust of wind blew through the group, sending Sasuke and Sakura in one direction and Naruto in the other. How he _hated_ his luck.

Honestly... It seemed redundant to say this but...

"Ouch."

"Sakura?" he groaned, rubbing his head and thanking god that ninja's tended to have more durable bodies (something about chakra strenghtening).

"Yeah... I'm here."

"What about Naruto?"

Sakura blinked a few times, trying to clear her vision. "Erm... I think Naruto is somewhere else."

Sasuke let out an aggrevated sigh. "Damn dobe."

Shaking her head clear, Sakura walked over to her teammate. "You okay? I could try to heal something for you."

He grunted. "Hn. I'm fine. Save your chakra."

The kunoichi raised a dubious eyebrow. "If you say so. Though, I _have _increased my reserve since then, you know."

"So says you."

A loud crunch interrupted her conversation. "Damn. That really hurt! You guys okay?" Naruto burst through the clearing in her usual rambunctious way. "I mean, seriously! I-"

"Stop right there!" Sasuke held up a kunai, narrowing his eyes at the blond. "Who'd we fight at the bridge?" he demanded, lips curled up into a scowl.

Naruto furrowed her eyebrow in confusion. "Huh? Zabusa-san and Haku-san. Why-"

Both teammates charged at her. Eyes widening, "Naruto" jumped up into the tree. Landing into a perfect crouch, "she" chuckled and, with a poof, revealed "herself" to be the grass nin with the long tongue from before. "How'd you know it was me?"

The two genin raised their eyebrows in perfect synchronization. "You refered to them as 'Zabusa-san' and 'Haku-san'. Naruto would never refer to them respectfully."

"Huu huu..." The nin's eyes seemed to glow eerily. "I see... this will be fun..."

* * *

_With Naruto..._

"Crap," Naruto muttered, pushing herself off the ground. "That shit _hurt!_ At least I don't have to go to the bathroom anymore. Otherwise... that might have really bad."

Scratching her head, Naruto took a look around. "Now... where'd I come from again?" Spotting a large area of knocked down trees from the gust of wind, Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Okay. That's convenient."

Shrugging off the instinct to go another path, Naruto began her tread through the trees, never noticing the hissing that seemed to be getting closer and closer until it was just behind her. Turning around, her eyes widened as she caught sight of the large mouth that was in the process of swallowing her.

"OH SHI-"

* * *

_With Sasuke and Sakura..._

The grass nin held up an earth scroll. "You want my earth scroll, don't you?" He smirked, giving Sakura the creeps. "Then let our battle begin. _Kill..._"

With just a glance of his eyes, both genin found themselves immoblie, forcibly seeing flashes of blood and death. Reality is cruel. But sometimes, the imagination can be crueler.

_'Genjutsu?' _Sasuke thought as Sakura began to empty her stomach next to him. _'No... That was just pure killing intent... Who the hell _is_ this guy?_'

"S-sakura," he muttered, glancing at his teammate only to see her frozenly staring off into space with tears in her eyes. He cursed. _'This is bad... if we don't move... We're dead!_'

Smiling, the grass nin began to walk towards them. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke shakily took out a kunai. "Can't move?" the long haired enemy taunted, walking ever closer.

_'Just a little bit more!'_

In a flash, two kunais stood where the two Konoha genin used to be and the grass nin smiled in their wake. "Wonderful... As I thought, he's no ordinary genin."

In the treetops, Sasuke took a deep breath, trembling heavily, kunai still in his thigh. _'Fuck. That was too close.'_

"S-sasu-"

Sasuke shushed her, cover her mouth with his hand. "Shut up. We're no match for that guy."

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in concern, glancing at his leg. Even so if they were no match... he could at least let her heal his leg! She frowned for a moment before letting her eyes drift upward. "Mmph!"

The Uchiha's head snapped towards her in reproach but she payed no mind. Pulling his hand down, she yelled, "Behind you! Snake!" Whipping around, Sasuke let out a curse as the open mouth grew closer with every second. Taking out his shurken, Sasuke threw them at it as hard as he could.

"GET AWAY!"

The large snake body slammed into a neighboring tree trunk and remained there, unmoving. Sakura let out a sigh of relief before a dark chuckle rang throughout the area. A sickening noise erupted as a dark figure tore through the snakes body, revealing the grass nin from before

"Huu huu huu... You shouldn't relax even for a moment. Prey should always run away in the presence of a predator..."

Suddenly, his body elongated to wrap around the tree and towards them. As he rapidly progressed forward, a set of shuriken landed right in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. All eyes flashed towards the orange figure, standing out vibrantly in front of the dark green of the forest, even with red and puke green stains.

"Sorry teme, Sakura-chan. I got a bit delayed by this giant snake."

"Naruto! Great job!" Sakura cheered, smiling at their teammate.

Sasuke shook his head. "Forget it, Naruto! This guy's too much for us. Run away!"

The blond scowled. "I NEVER RUN AWAY! I WON'T JUST FREEZE AND RUN AWAY, LEAVING YOU AND SAKURA-CHAN, TEME! I REFUSE TO!"

The Uchiha tsked, thinking. _'This is bad. Even if we have Naruto, it's not like we're in a better situation. Dammit! I guess there's not choice.'_

Turning on his sharingan, he glared at the grass nin. "I'll give you our scroll. Take it and leave us."

"TEME? What the HELL!"

"!"

The long haired man smiled. "Ho? Giving the predator another meal, eh? Huu Huu... Smart."

"Take it!" Sasuke yelled, throwing it.

As the scroll flew through the air, Naruto felt her opinion of him fall lower and lower the further it went. _'Stupid teme..._' Jumping forward, the blond grabbed at the scroll before the snake summoner could get it. With shadowed eyes, Naruto crouched on the branch, scroll safely pocketed into her jacket.

"Naruto! You idiot! What do you think you're doing!"

Whipping around, Naruto punched him across the face. "Don't talk to me. I don't know who the fuck you are, but you aren't the Sasuke I know. You're too terrified to be him. I don't give a fuck how strong this asshole is. Sasuke would _never_ give up so easily. And if he's as strong as you say, well... who's to say he won't kill us after taking the scroll?"

Orochimaru, the snake sannin in grass nin disguise, let out a chuckle. "Very good, Naruto-kun. You're correct."

"Shut up!" Naruto charged at the missing nin, hate filling her being already.

"Naruto! Stop! Don't! Naruto!"

Naruto just shook her head inwardly. _'I've lost all respect for you, Uchiha."_

The sannin smirked. "Summoning no Jutsu!" A giant snake appeared underneath him and swatted a large tail at the blond genin, sending her flying through the air. "Feel free to eat him," Orochimaru ordered, a smile appearing on his face.

Eyes narrowing, Naruto felt her teeth elongate. "Like hell! EAT SHIT!" she yelled, slamming two kunai into snake hide. Just before her body made contact with the coarse skin, red, slitted eyes met the sanin's.

_'This kid... No way... I thought... it was supposed to be a girl...'_ The snake summon found itself slamming into a tree, snapping it in half. Naruto, on the other hand, flew through the air once more. Orochimaru's eyes narrowed at the figure before turning his attention to Sasuke. _'It doesn't matter right now. I'll figure it out later.'_

"Now Sasuke-kun... what'll you do?" Orochimaru crackled, eyes insane with glee as he rushed towards Sasuke. Just before he reached, however, a certain blond nuisance made itself known once more. Naruto slammed her kunai into the snake hide once more, making sure to dig it into more with every second. The snake sannin imperceptibly lifted an eyebrow.

Smiling with a trail of blood coming out the side of her mouth, Naruto taunted Sasuke. "Scared, teme?" Before she could go any further, she found herself lifted into the air and forcibly turned towards the sannin. "UWAH! Oi! Let me go! Let me go dammit!"

"So," Orochimaru murmured, scruntinizing the "boy". "The nine-tails brat is still alive. Though... I could have sworn you were a girl last time I saw you."

Naruto's eyes widened, freezing up. How did...

"Oh?" Orochimaru's eyes widened in interest as he lifted her shirt up slightly. "The seal is visible. When your emotions are heightened the power of the nine-tails overflows through the seal. Hmmm... Even still..." Pulling his hand for only a moment, Orochimaru slammed the chakra charged hand into the jinchuuriki's stomach, inducing a scream of pure pain. "Five Part Seal!"

Slowly, Naruto's eyes began to close and she was welcomed by darkness.

_'The nine-tail's chakra and your chakra are finally beginning to fuse. But right now... you're just getting in my way.' _With ruthless eyes, the snake sanin tossed the blond aside carelessly. Eyes flaring up in anger at seeing his teammate thrown aside so carelessly, Sasuke charged the sanin with vengeful eyes.

"Naruto!" Thinking quickly, Sakura through a kunai and pinned her teammates jacket to the tree, saving her from a quite possibly deadly fall.

Ten minutes later, the battle between Orochimaru and Sasuke was coming to a close. By this time, Sasuke had managed to burn the sanin's face and the sanin had frozen the genin with some genjutsu. With a chuckle, Orochimaru's torsu crept ever closer. Biting her lip, Sakura watched, thinking as Sasuke struggled and tried to disrupt the whatever it was that had him immobilized.

"I just.. I just need a distraction," Sakura murmured, eyes fervently watching for an opening to interven as the head drew closer and closer to her teammate. "Just five seconds. Just _five_ seconds. That's all I need. Then, I can help... just... five seconds..."

And she found them in a blond.

It was with dead-leaden eyes that Naruto stirred. Prying them open, she watched with confusion as a unfamiliar face with a very familiar body drew closer and closer to a dark blur.

_'...'suke?'_

She didn't know who that person was and what he wanted with Sasuke but she knew it couldn't be anything good. With shaking hands, she took out the spare kunai she always kept hidden in her sleeve and took aim. After all, even if she had lost her respect for the raven haired genin, he was still a precious person, her hazy mind thought. Moments later, the kunai miraculously grazed the sannin's nose.

One second...

The sannin and Naruto lock gazes, one shocked and furious, the other glazed but glaring. Sakura moves toward the struggling Sasuke unnnoticed.

Two seconds...

Orochimaru scowls and decides the brat must go. The brat got in the way too much and the fact that she was able to wake up so soon could mean trouble later on. Best kill the bud before it ever blooms. Naruto smirks at him, still with no knowledge of who he was, just knowing he was an enemy. Sakura is positioned in front of the still immoblized Sasuke who doesn't noticed, as he finally noticed the conscious blond. But that's okay, because he'd just ruin everything anyway, she thinks.

Three seconds...

Orochimaru summons the chakra neccessary to summon Kusanagi. Naruto welcomes the darkness once more, finally giving into her exhaustion. Sakura begins the seals unnoticed.

Four seconds...

Orochimaru has always been obssessive and so focuses only on Naruto as he takes aim. Naruto still slumbers in a sea of blissful blankness. Sakura finishes the seals and the bursts of chakra have been attributed to Sasuke attempting to escape.

Five seconds...

Orochimaru throws Kusanagi and it strikes Naruto in the chest, piercing into the tree. Sasuke shouts out "Naruto!" drawing the sannin's attention. By then, everything is in place and Orochimaru is too distracted to notice anything off. Hurriedly, he elongates his neck once more and bites Sasuke's neck, earning another pain filled scream. He quickly leaves with a chuckle, his last thought amongst team seven being that _his_ (oh _how_ that sounded wonderful) Sasuke-kun has a pretty high pitched scream.

It was because of his early leave that he never noticed as onyx eyes turned green and raven hair turned pink.

* * *

**A/N:** ... Yeah... okay... that second part was a bit longer that I thought it'd be... ha ha... Sheesh. And the scenes I had to add in to connect to the pieces I had written out already? Freaking drove me mad! But yeah. In any case. There's the next part that I said I'd post. :D As for the lack of descriptive fighting scenes.. well... I'm kind of assuming you already know all that and so didn't really feel need to really go into it. And sorry if it seems a bit rushed. Please not that the change in tenses at the end was _intentional_.

**Q:What the hell...? When's Sasuke going to get his time to shine in the limelight?**

**A:** ... next chapter... i promise. He'll get a whole scene to himself! And he won't seem like a little pussy! Maybe a whiny little brat but still! I promise!

But now that that's over... Read and Review please! I want to see what you think. I might actually change something too!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary**: For her, she'd be willing to do anything... even give up her femininity. She'd be willing to be a guy... no matter what. All for her... Too bad Sasuke won't leave her be.

**standard disclaimers apply**

**Warnings:** previous ones and... slightly perverted Sasuke. Seriously.

**A/N: **I updated after a week! I did it! I kept my word! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! :D It seems like people like the twist I've been planning and planning and planning and planning since very beginning! Yay! You have NO idea just HOW much I've been WAITING for the day that I'd finally be able to write Sakura getting the curse seal. But... some people said that this might have been the first time Sakura's gotten the seal before. I would like to say however, that I'm pretty sure that there are stories out there with it in there. It may not have happened this way... but I'm pretty sure I've read one where she was bitten on the forehead... if I'm not mistaken... But yeah. Just'd like throw that out there. I didn't bite the whole Sakura getting the curse seal off that though. I actually have a reason for it! Which I can't tell you....

But enough rambling from for now... On to this (exceedingly short) chapter! .... This is what weekly updates will probably start looking like. Colleges are stressing me out. And other people. And plans for the future in general.

**

* * *

**

**No Matter What**

_chapter 15_

Her whole body felt as though it were being burned alive, the area where that creepy asshole bit her being the most painful. Even still, Sakura never dropped the genjutsu until the sanin left. It wasn't actually supposed to be used this way. It was supposed to be a defensive genjutsu, an advanced form of henge, that replaced you with something in your surroundings so that the enemy won't notice you. Her genjutsu sensei had taught it to her to protect herself just before the exams. And instead... she used it to put herself in danger. _'At least it went towards saving Sasuke,'_ Sakura thought with a pained grimace.

She'd finally become _strong_. She had sacrificed herself for someone she loved and she had become strong because of it. But she wasn't done yet. Pain wracking her body with every little movement, Sakura grasped her neck, digging her nails in - anything to distract her.

"S-sasuke," she rasped, eyes shutting in pain as she bit back her scream. He looked sharply at her, finally drawing his gaze away from their blond teammate. "Bring Naruto over here and _don't _pull that sword out of him. Do it now and I might be able to save him!"

The Uchiha stared at his teammate worriedly and more than a little bit confusedly. What?

"NOW!"

Startled out of his shock, Sasuke hurried to do as commanded. Ever so carefully, he held the crossdresser pulled the blond away from the tree and held her before Sakura, eyes unconsciously pleading for her to heal her. Gasps of pain escaping her with ever second, Sakura reached with glowing green hands tinged in purple towards the blond. Even with trembling hands and under extreme pain, her chakra control never failed.

With gritted teeth she gave further instructions. "Remove his jacket and shirt. Don't touch that sword. I don't care _how_ you do it. Just do it!"

There was only a moment's hesitation and an uncertain glance towards her before Sasuke did as instructed and removed the upper garments using a kunai - jacket, shirt, bandages and all were removed.

Hands trembling ever more, Sakura pressed her hands on the blond's chest for a few moments and poured chakra in before collapsing on the ground. Just barley able to get up on her hands, she looked at Sasuke with tired eyes. "He'll last six hours with what I've done. You have six hours to find a scroll and get us to the tower and find us a medic. I have a scroll under my clothes. Grope me and die. Good luck."

The last of her duties done, Sakura finally gave into the pain and let unconsciousness take over her. Just before she lost consciousness, Sakura realized that instead of the hard chest she'd expected to feel, she felt... something bouncy. _'Does Naruto have man-boobies?'_ came the slightly hysterical thought before blackness claimed her.

Sasuke caught Sakura just before she fell on top of the topless blond. Glancing down at the two girls in his arms (he carefully avoided a certain area on a certain crossdresser's torso), he couldn't help but wonder how he was supposed to do this without moving that sword in Naruto's chest _or_ leaving one of them behind. Not to mention actually getting another scroll... and getting to the tower... within six hours....

_'Kage bunshin would be _really_ helpful right about now. But, oh wait, Naruto's got a fucking sword in her damn dobe chest, doesn't she?'_

Gently lying Naruto down on her side, despite his sarcastic thoughts, Sasuke carted Sakura onto his back. Using chakra-induced rope, he tied her so that she wouldn't be able to fall off. Then, he carefully held Naruto in his arms (though he did almost drop her when he touched... _that_).

It was with a red face that Sasuke rushed off towards the tower. He only had six hours after all. He'd probably find a team on the way there. But, _damn,_ was he going to be tired.

As it turned out, he was right on both accounts. He did find a team on the way there - the sound team from the first exam - and he _was_ dead tired when he reached the tower. The fact that he even reached there was, much to his dismay, a large part in due to a squirrel of all things.

An hour after leaving the battle grounds, he did something that he was sure only Naruto would do, a desperate Naruto at that. He attached an explosive note to an acorn and gave it to a strangely familiar squirrel with orders to throw it at anyone who didn't have a leaf headband. The squirrel looked at him, the acorn and then at him once more before throwing it to the side. It hit a member of the sound team and injured the rest.

This had somehow caused the sound team to believe that he had planned it all thus making him superior. After the leader of the group said a whole speech in which an inwardly stunned Sasuke found out that the perverted pedophile (why the hell would he give Sakura a hicky otherwise?! He could tell it was a seal but still! It's like a hicky!) had sent them, Sasuke was offered their scroll in exchange fore a "safe retreat". Amazingly enough, it was actually the scroll they needed. He stared at it incredulously for a moment before pocketing it and heading towards the tower once more. That had taken 30 minutes.

It took him three and a half hours to find the damn tower. Three and a half hours of long nonstop walking, carrying an unconscious girl with a fever on his back. Three and a half hours of long nonstop walking, carrying an unconscious but living girl with a sword in her damn chest and, miraculously, a beating heart. Even if she _didn't_ have a shirt on.

Three and a half hours... and now that he was finally in the damn tower... he didn't know what the hell he was supposed to do.

He glared balefully at the wall. He wanted to scream at it. He did not. Instead he thought for a moment. After all, everyone knew Uchiha's _must _be _logical_. So, they needed two scrolls. Okay. They had that. Next was three live teammates. Check... sort of. Then what?! He thought hard. There were... two missing words.

Eyes snapping open, he stared down at Sakura. It was worth a try but... Did he really have to search through her clothing?! With a grimace, he unzipped her dress. _'It's not like she has any boobs anyway. Not like..'_

He unconsciously stared at the Uzumaki's chest as he devoust Sakura of her clothing, quickly found the scroll and mechanically rezipped her dress. And to think, he did this without even looking away from his _lovely_ view. _'Even with a sword piercing her, she looks...' _He blushed. Just as mechanically as he took Sakura's scroll, he took out his own and pealed both open.

The smoke from the scroll quickly drew his attention away from the two soft, and usually bouncy, things. With a curse, he threw them to the other side of the room and took out a kunai. Moments later, Iruka appeared.

Before he could even finish saying the first word, Sasuke had processed who he was and cut him off, pointing at Naruto and Sakura, both who now laying behind him. "Medic," is all he got out before Iruka's eyes grew wide.

"N-Naruto!" was all the chuunin could stutter, his eyes trained on the sword.

"They're _both_ alive if that's what you're asking," Sasuke murmured, relief evident in his voice. "Now get a damn medic, sensei."

Iruka nodded, shaken by the site of the site of his favorite blond, as he ignored the blatant signs of a female. What had happened? God, he _knew_ they weren't ready for this... even if they _had_ past his tests.

Shakily, he knocked twice on the wall to reveal a duck. "Infirmary," he choked out. The duck, who would have looked VERY familiar to Naruto but utterly confused Sasuke, nodded in acknowledgment.

One of the walls sank into the ground to reveal a previously hidden tunnel. And so, they headed off, Sasuke carrying Naruto, Iruka carrying Sakura. Thirty minutes had passed by in that room.

_'We only have 30 minutes left.'_ It was this thought that gave him strength.

Teeth gritted, Sasuke picked up his pace a bit. They had only 30 minutes left and who knew how long this tunnel was.

Small tremors began began to occur throughout Naruto's body and a small trail of blood ran down her nose.

* * *

_Sakura's mind..._

It hissed as it looked around. Something was wrong. This place did not feel right... But no matter. It would have to make do. Yes... It would continue with the task the creator had designed him to do. What did it matter if something was wrong?

It slithered across the milky darkness. _Mine, _it hissed.

**"Oh? Says who?!"**

**

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A/N: Ha ha... short... i know. But... I REALLY loved ending it there! I hope you'll all be able to forgive me for this exceedingly short chapter. It was... just such a good stopping point! xD

**Q: Who was it that actually yelled out Naruto's name?  
**

**A: **_That was Sasuke. The real one. Sakura was a bit too busy quietly freaking out to herself and questioning her sanity now that she had accomplished her plan to be paying attention to Naruto. Plus, she hadn't actually had much practice doing the technique since it slightly differed from regular henge. This one makes your chakra blend into surrounding's chakra and disrupts a bit of perception to those who look. It's really hard to figure it out if you aren't paying attention but also more difficult to do. Which is why Sakura wasn't paying attention to Naruto and Orochimaru and why he (Orochimaru) never figured it out after he started paying attention again to "Sasuke"._

But yeah... Sakura has finally... begun to realize Naruto doesn't have dick. And we finally get to see things from Sasukes POV again. Kind of. I had actually thought about getting team seven in there to help Naruto out but... (shrugs) I thought Riku the squirrel all the way back from chapter 5 would be a nicer touch. Not to mention the little wall ducks from chapter 2. See! I haven't abandoned them! ... if anyone remembers them and wondered what happened to them.... (cough)

But yeah! R&R!


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary**: For her, she'd be willing to do anything... even give up her femininity. She'd be willing to be a guy... no matter what. All for her... Too bad Sasuke won't leave her be.

**standard disclaimers apply**

**A/N: **.... I LIED! I'M SO SORRY! I swear! I really did think I'd update like... last week? last last week? I can't remember! I'm SO sorry! But like... all my teachers started to bog me down with projects and tests and SATs all at the same time!! O.O!!! Thus... the delayed chapter... Who knew time could pass by so fast. Not to mention that I don't have a ride back to school so I either have to stay at the library till seven or walk back home... which takes a bit over an hour and leaves me feeling sleepier than I started. Some days I'm just exhausted by the time I get home. Naps have become my heaven... and part of my reason for not updating.

And so, once again, I'M SORRY!

And please note... that if there are any errors or crack in here... I wrote this while I was sick and lacking of a brain (it ran away after much abuse and left a crappy assistant). Have mercy and bear with it.

Key: '_thoughts_', "_Kusanagi_" (I would have made this underlined but FF is being a bitch), **"Kyuubi"/"Inner Sakura"** (you'll be able to tell by where the setting is)

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**No Matter What**

_chapter 16_

Ame no Murakumo, coined Kusanagi no Tsurugi, is a sword that is _not_ to be handled lightly or thrown away casually. Somewhat sentient, it values strength and respect most of all. It was this reason that it had allowed the snake sannin to wield it for so long. Had it felt that the sannin was _completely_ unworthy of it, it would have thrown off the pitiful attempts to bind it to him in an instant. Instead, it stuck with the missing nin, demeening him worthy enough for the time.

Losing to certain people, it could handle. There would always be those who are stronger. Kusanagi knew this. It was those who strived to be strong that it stuck with. However, _that asshole threw it away!_ Kusanagi was _the _sword presented to the goddess Amaterasu by Susanoo in order to settle an old grievance that she would not have forgotten otherwise! It was deemed good enough by a goddess to forgive a _god's_ mistake! Who was he, a foolish mortal who craved the immortality that he would never achieve, to just _leave it behind in some genin!_ Not even chuunin! A GENIN!

Feeling deeply affronted, Kusanagi decided then and there, it was time to change "masters". To do this, all it needed to do was suck up a little mixture of its old master's chakra and a bit of its intended target. After all, what is a sword without its master? And, what do you know? The mixture was presented perfectly right there!

Kusanagi glowed lightly as it rid itself of old bindings and familiarized itself with its new "master". It "smiled" lightly as it got acquainted with its new target's body and personality. A vast desire to be strong and protect. Even a wind affinity. Perfect. It's old "master" had even been to kill the girl with Kusanagi itself. And Kusanagi always enjoyed irony. And the best of all? It could actually manifest itself into a humanoid shape here!

**"Who the fuck are you!?"**

Kusanagi, who had taken the form a small, naked girl with silver hair, turned around towards the voice. It peered into the dark recesses of the cage. _"... Kyuu-chan?!"_

**"Awww fuck. It claustrophobic enough as it is! Now I have _this_ annoyance to deal with!"**

_"Who are you calling an annoyance, furball?!"_

**

* * *

**_In the real world, waiting room just outside the infirmary..._

Sasuke hated hospitals. Even more, he hated waiting for news about people _in_ the hospital. It was true that he was the only Uchiha to survive the massacre. What people didn't know was that there might have been another survivor - a little boy about the age of five. A distant cousin of his. He couldn't do anything but wait back then either. Mind raped, shocked, almost deadened to the world, he had found a small body that still had a small amount of life in it. The boy had been pierced with a sword, his mother on top of him in a vague attempt to protect him.

Hearing the small rasps was enough to bring the traumatized Uchiha back to the world for a moment. Pulling out the sword, he grasped the boy in his small arms and ran towards the hospital as fast as he could run. The medics had taken in the site and immediately began to do what they could, working on the tiny body even as they rushed towards the emergency room. Sasuke waited outside, praying to God that he'd save the little boy. In a way, he'd put all his hope of still having _something_ in that small body. The boy never made it.

It had taken too long to get there and all the movement had caused him to lose too much blood, he'd been told. Dead eyes had stared at the medics as they sadly informed him of the news. It had been then that he'd decided on the course of revenge.

And so, Sasuke hated hospitals and he hated waiting at hospitals even more. But here he was, doing the same thing as so long ago. A wry smile appeared on his lips. The situation was entirely too similar and once again... he couldn't do anything. He had both of his teammates in the emergency room. One had his own sensei working on her as well as five additional medics. The other had two medic nins working on her.

It had taken thirty minutes to find that many people willing to help her. And he could tell that they were having a hard time. By the time they started to work on her, she had already started convulsing in his arms. Pain was etched across her face, even in unconsciousness, and he just stood there, holding onto her tightly.

Every now and then, Sasuke could hear small phrases come through the emergency doors. Phrases about chakra poisoning and severe blood loss. Even things about Kyuubi. They scared him. He couldn't afford to lose her. Them. Both of them. He... he couldn't...

He buried his head into his hands. He needed her by his side. _'Please, Kami-sama. Don't let her die. Don't take her away from me... Haven't taken enough? Don't let her die. I need her!'_

The doors leading to the waiting room opened and the hokage walked into the room, a white haired man with a serious face by his side. They paused in front of him, staring contemplatively at him for a moment.

"She'll be okay. We won't let her die," Sandaime stated gently, confidence in his voice. "She's too gutsy." The sentence had been imbued with a small amount of wryness but it had helped Sasuke. It'll work out. He'd believe in the Sandaime. And... if she died.... then...

The pair walked into the emergency room, determination oozing from their pores, leaving Sasuke to wait along once more in the waiting room. It would be another hour before he'd get any news.

* * *

_The emergency room, Naruto..._

To be honest, by the time the Sandaime and Jirarya had entered the emergency room, the medics had already given up hope of saving the jinchuuriki. She had lost too much blood in the time it had taken to find someone to help her. Not only that, but it seems as though something was preventing the Kyuubi from healing her injuries. Too make matters worse, her chakra had been poisoned, infected by a malignant external source, probably from the enemy, they deduced. It was hampering with her own natural healing abilities. Extreme blood loss, super healing abilities mysteriously gone, natural healing hampered... They were at a loss as to what to do. Their techniques only helped speed up a person's original healing. What could they do when all healing abilities had been bound away to a seemingly unreachable place?

And so, it had come as surprise when the sword had started to glow thirty seconds after the door had closed once more. Surprised yelps erupted from the medics' mouths and the two newcomers eyes had widened in shock and confusion. Soon, the glow had grown so bright that all occupants of the room had to cover their eyes for fear of growing blind. When they were able to open their eyes once more, the sword had disappeared and her wound had closed. The medics had gaped in awe.

The next hour had been spent feeding her crushed blood pills, trying figuring out why Kyuubi hadn't healed her injuries, fixing the seal, and hypothesizing on just _what the hell had happened._ It was only in the middle of creating some wild theory about advanced healing bloodlines mysteriously appearing from having such a strong being such as Kyuubi sealed into her at a young age that someone remembered the young Uchiha who was waiting outside for news about the girl.

Chagrined by their carelessness, they sent out a nurse to ask the Uchiha if he wished to visit the girl. Moments later, the two unconscious members of team seven were laid down next to one another on separate beds and a brooding Uchiha entered the room, tension and worry etched into his very being, only slightly eased when he saw the blond's face free of pain. Gracefully collapsing into a seat by the bed, he sat there primly, staring at his teammate with dark, brooding eyes.

_'Wake the fuck up, dobe. Wake up. Wake up. WAKE UP!'_

She didn't wake up. _'Of course she wouldn't,' _he thought wryly to himself. _'She's Naruto. Whoever heard of her listening to me?'_

He let out a sigh, sinking into his chair. With a blank face, he stared at the unconscious blond, exasperated thoughts running through his mind. He tilted his head slightly as she turned in her sleep and let out a dumb grin that frustrated him to no end. She had almost died and she was grinning?! Granted, she _was_ asleep and these actions were thus unconscious... But still! _'Dobe. One day... You're going to be the death of me. After all... You already have me falling in-'_

"...suke-kun! Sasuke-kun!"

Shocked out of his thoughts, he swiftly turned towards the voice, his eyes widening ever so slightly. His sensei raised an eyebrow at his uncharacteristic behavior. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Kakashi was met with a deadpanned stared. Sweatdropping, he let out a chuckle. "It was worth a try," he muttered with an insincere shrug. Silence reigned for a moment before he broke it. "It sucks, doesn't it? Watching them with that stupid face after they've almost died..." His eyes glazed over as memories of _other times_ rushed through his mind.

Sasuke didn't answer. But that was fine. Kakashi hadn't expected one in any case. A companionable silence rested peacefully between the two males of Team Seven as they waited for the other members to wake up.

* * *

_Naruto's Mindscape..._

Waking up from wondrous dreams of ramen, Naruto blearily opened her eyes with a painfilled groan and ruffled up her short hair. She paused for a moment when, instead of seeing the dark forest she'd been expecting, her eyes were met with gloomy pipes that leaked. Glancing down, she noticed that she was lying on a pile of what looked like dirty water.

"... Am I in the sewers?" After further investigation, she concluded that _yes_, she _was_ in the sewers. "ACK! Gross! I was laying down in the sewers! I just touched my hair with a hand that was in _sewage water!!_ GROOOOOSSSSS!!"

After a moment of freaking out, she peered into what seemed to be the never ending darkness. It was as though it was... _calling_ to her. "So... I wake up after this major battle... in a sewer. An unknown sewer. And I have something that seems to be _calling_ to me and urging me to follow it. It also seems... as though I can't think to myself and must voice out all my thoughts. How lovely.... KAI!" She clapped her hands but nothing happened.

There was a moment of silence before, "HENGE!" Still, nothing happened. She deadpanned. "And now I have no chakra... and am still alive. How _lovely_. So. Follow the creepy feeling or just sit here. In a random sewer. Not that following will take me _out_ of the sewer. In fact, it'll probably just take me further down."

While she was talking/thinking all of this, Naruto began her trek down the sewage system. Walking down, she couldn't help but notice some _very_ strange things that should _not_ be in a sewer.

"... Is that a ball? Why there is a tree growing in a sewer? _How_ can it even grow when it's unlikely that it even gets _light_?! Hey... did that shadow just _move by itself?!_ What's up with that bunny?! And why does it look like Haku's?!"

The deeper she went, the more creeped out she couldn't help but get ("DUDE! Is that a _unicorn?!_"). After some moment of time, she finally reached her destination - a large room that led up to a giant cage that held a tiny slip of paper on it that said the word "seal". Just in front of the bars stood a small, naked girl that was arguing with a large fox trapped behind the bars.

_"At least __I don't intentionally __ignore all contact with the others like a __certain antisocial jerkface of a wannabe bijuu!"_

**"Who the hell are you calling a wannabe?! I'm the most powerful of all of them. And fuck the others! And I was FUCKING SEALED AWAY IN HERE! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU WANT ME TO DO!?"**

_"About that! Why the hell were you sealed into a little girl!"_

**"A 'little girl' whom you decided to have as your _master!_ What the hell were you thinking anyway?!"**

_"I was thinking my previous one was too much of a pedo and that I was WAAAAAY too good for him. I mean, he fucking _left_ me behind!"_

**"HA! He probably thought you were to burdensome and annoying and left you behind!"**

_"I'll have you know that I didn't even __talk to the asshole! Not even once! He was too __unworthy of me!" This was said with a sniff that earned a raised eyebrow from the other occupants of the room._

**"Oh get off your high ass-"**

"... Just _where_ the FUCK am I?! And who the hell are you two?!"

The little girl whipped around and stared at her with sparkling grey eyes. _"Oh good! You're here! I'm Ame no Murakumo. Feel free to call me Kusanagi."_

"... Haa?" Naruto stared at Kusanagi sceptically. Just what the _hell_ was going on?

_"Oh, you know. I'm just the sword that almost killed you. No hard feelings by the way. It came with the job. After all, all's fair in love and war, right? But yeah. I decided to leave the asshole and help you instead though! So feel honored!"_

A loud snort came from behind the cages. **"Oh that's _really_ making you desirable. Don't listen, gaki. Refuse. This little-"**

"Who the hell are you calling a gaki!?" Naruto snarled, a bit testy from waking up in a sewer only to be called a gaki once she had found some company. By a giant _fox_ no less. "I don't know who the hell you are but, just for that, I think I'll take Kusanagi's offer! You've got yourself a deal! You're serving me now!"

The little girl smiled and a malicious light entered her eyes. Seeing that, Naruto couldn't help but wonder if this was the best idea after all... Oh well. Too late now.

* * *

**A/N**: Okay. I know it's short especially after the long wait and the numerous promises that i'd update many weeks back. BUT! ... Last week was SAT week and I got sick this week. It was a miracle that I even got this far... considering that I only started it last Saturday... (cough cough) Ha ha. But yeah. Some lovely reviewer pointed out that... Oro didn't get his sword... which... I totally missed while _incorporating_ that fact into my story... Ha ha. Silly me. Luckily, EDelta88 also gave a suggestion that I make Kusanagi switch masters... which I did. but... I think because my brain ran away and my sickness has gotten to me more that I think... it went somewhere... very random. And so.. I may go back and fix it. Elaborate. Correct it. But for the moment, it's enough and it's what you get. Deal with it. (I'm a bit pissy right now. I've had a bad day). Thank you for bearing with my PMSing. goodbye.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary**: For her, she'd be willing to do anything... even give up her femininity. She'd be willing to be a guy... no matter what. All for her... Too bad Sasuke won't leave her be.

**standard disclaimers apply**

**A/N**: Ha ha... I know... It's a miracle right? You thought you'd never see this day again... right? I've finally updated! But it probably won't happen again until like... April... maybe. xD This is mostly due to school. It's been sucking my life. And to think... This was supposed to be my _easy_ year? This is actually turning to be the most draining year of all my life. I cry. OTL

As a side note... Please be aware that this was almost lost! So be happy I even got it out! xD (dodges knives) And if it seems like it doesn't quite match up with the last chapter or even the whole story... keep in mind that it's been a long time... (coughs)

Most of you have probably forgotten what's happened so... **Here's a quick recap:**

During the second portion of the Chuunin Exam, Naruto got stabbed with Kusanagi and Sakura fainted from chakra exhaustion after being granted the seal from Orochimaru who thought she was Sasuke due to her super genjutsu and luck. Just before fainting, Sakura figured out that Naruto had boobs. Sasuke carried both back, getting a scroll with help from Riku the Squirrel. In the hospital, Sasuke angsts pathetically while Naruto makes a pact with Kusanagi in a random moment of impulse in order to blatantly tell Kyuubi to screw off. This has unknown repercussions. What are Kusanagi's plans? We don't know. And so... here we are...

edited: 8.11.10

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**No Matter What**

_Chapter 17  
_

Naruto woke up with a headache. A massive headache. Hokage mountain massive, in fact. But that was neither here nor now. Well, it technically _was_ since she had just woken and was therefore still inflicted with this massive headache but, the point is, it didn't really matter all that much. Because she couldn't breathe.

_'Heavy! What's with this heavy... thing on my chest? I can't breathe!'_

No seriously... she _really_ couldn't breathe. It wasn't funny at all... to her, at least. To make matters worse, she also couldn't move either arm since one arm was trapped under the heavy object and the other arm had fallen asleep due to bad posture. It hurt when she twitched. Imagine how much it would hurt if she actually tried to move it. She wanted to cry but couldn't because she couldn't breathe. Not that the two had anything to do with each other. But it was the principal of it all. One doesn't cry when they can't breathe. No no... they _scream_ instead. Except... Naruto didn't even have enough breath to scream.

All that came out was a pathetically warped grunt of some sort. It sounded like some poor, pitiful animal was dying a poor, pitiful death by choking on its own spit. It was really pathetic actually. Naruto... really wanted to breathe. But, more than that, she wanted to kill this heavy thing that made it so she couldn't breathe.

_'How long has it been? Two minutes? Three minutes?'_ Naruto was thankful that shinobi were able to hold there breaths longer than civilians. She probably would have passed out by now. Then she might have really been screwed because then no one would know she couldn't breathe until it was too late and she died from lack of oxygen or had brain damage.

Time trickled by before footsteps could be heard outside the door. Light conversation trailed after the footsteps, the feminine voices giggling and squealing about something or another. Normally, this would have made Naruto horrified since she hated squealing and all things fangirly but, in this case, she wanted to shout out in joy and praise the greater beings above.

Slowly, the voices came closer and closer and became more and more legible...

"You have to admit, they're pretty adorable together."

"Yes. But... they're so... different. I mean, the pariah of the village with the last survivor? That poor child has been through so much! He'll have to go through so much more if he actually gets together with that fox brat."

Naruto's eyes furrowed slightly as they came closer. "Fox brat"? Were they talking about her?

"But... They just look so nice together! That pale skin against that nicely tanned body. The dark hair contrasting against the silky blond. The stoic, lonesome personality against that bubbly spirit. Both look so beautiful too! And imagine them both sweaty as they grunt and-"

"Oi oi! That's enough! They're only twelve for kami-sama's sake! You dirty pedophile!"

Pedophile? Naruto's eyes widened slightly. _Pedophile?_ Did she really want them to come in here and save her? Her chastity was in danger!

A dainty sniff was heard before, "Hmph! You know you were thinking about it too."

"Only because you talk about it so descriptively."

"Ha! You admit it! You like the image too! Imagine how much money we could make off them if they were older! Women everywhere would gaze in awe."

"You mean jealousy. They'd all think it was a shame. After all, they're right there and such a beautiful guy is _gay_. Think of how many women would be disappointed. Not all of them are yaoi lovers like you."

"True, true. But still... I'm telling you, we could make some money off of them! We'd be rich! Think of the dango I could buy!"

Dango? What was _up_ with this lady? Naruto's eyebrows furrowed as tried to put the pieces together. Her. Some dark haired guy. Sweat. Pictures. Pedophile. Money... They wanted to take porny pictures of her? Her as a guy! Yaoi pictures? GROSS!

"Would people _really_ pay for pictures of those two? I mean... one of them _is_ the-"

"True, true. But if we target the younger generation when they're older... Think about it! We just have to start collecting now. We'll have limited edition copies and everything!"

"Hmm... I guess..." The voice sounded doubtful.

"It's true! It's true!"

"So... Who do you think is the uke?"

The voices trailed away. Naruto wasn't sure if she should cry in self pity or be grateful she wouldn't have to meet such scary people. She was pretty sure they were talking about selling pictures of her naked and sweaty. Yaoi pictures of her at that! She wasn't sure she wanted to _ever_ meet such people. Unfortunately... she still couldn't breath! They were supposed to help her! She cursed the gods.

The heavy object on her chest began to move, a small groan escaping. Slowly, the weight shifted from her chest to her abdomen. Eyes wide, Naruto could almost hear the hallelujah choruses as she took in her first gasping breath. Finally... Finally, she could...

"AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH! WHAT THE FUCK? DO YOU KNOW HOW CLOSE I WAS TO DYING, YOU GOD DAMNED-"

Naruto blinked as she took in the dizzy eyes of the newly awakened Sasuke. Sasuke? _He_ was the one who made it so she couldn't breathe? A maniacal glint appeared in her eyes as she slowly connected the dots.

"Naruto...?" Sasuke blearily murmured. "You're... awake?"

"FUCK YEAH, I'M AWAKE? AND YOU WERE NO HELP AT ALL, YOU LIFE SUCKING UKE!"

Sasuke stared at her. For a moment, his face contorted as though conflicted by some inner conflicted. His mouth twitched as though the beginnings of a relieved smile were to appear. His eyebrow twitched with the obvious annoyance he felt at being yelled at after all that he had gone through. His eyes were also somewhat squinted because of the bright light. To top it all off, his face had some red lines from where it had been pressed against rough, crumbled cloth for the last 2 hours that he'd been asleep. Luckily, his face cleared into an obviously irritated expression before the blond could get a good look and laugh at him. Though, the red lines were still there.

"For the last time, I'm not an _uke_. I'm straight, goddammit!" he grumbled, steadily trying to ignore the great big ball of burning relief that was quickly spreading throughout his body. "And _what_ are you talking about, dobe? I got you here and saved you, didn't I? You had a freaking _sword_ pierced through your body! You wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me! Where do you get off calling your savior - yeah, savior! Don't look at me like that, Uzumaki! - a 'life sucking uke'?"

"I couldn't _breathe_ because of you, you ass! Your stupid head was blocking off my air passageways!"

He blinked. "Oh. Really...?"

"Yes!" She literally growled at him, making him raise an eyebrow. Distantly, he couldn't help but wonder how much influence the Kyuubi had on her. Not that he thought she would one day destroy the village or anything. That was an absolutely stupid thought.

"Then sorry," he muttered, making her blink in surprise. Did... Did Sasuke just apologize? Worriedly, Naruto reached out a hand to test his temperature. Red faced, Sasuke sputtered, swatting the hand away. "What the hell dobe?"

"I was just checking your temperature!" Naruto explained hotly, rubbing at her stinging left hand. Damn it, did he have to smack her that hard? "You _apologized_. Either the apocolypse is coming or you're getting sick."

"Me apologizing does not mean the end of the world is coming," Sasuke replied, rolling his eyes. "I bet you just wanted to touch me or something, you pervert."

"EXCUSE ME!" the blond shouted, face red. "_You're_ the one with the who gropes and kisses and, and, and-"

Sasuke ignored her, rubbing at his ears. "Damn it. Are you _trying_ to blow out the ears of your savior?"

Naruto sighed, feeling slightly disgruntle. "Yeah yeah, Uke-chan. Whatever. So where am I?"

"In the hospital wing of the tower. I managed to bring both you and Sakura to the tower after the battle."

Slowly, Naruto began remembering. Flashes of the battle flickered through her mind. "Wait... both me _and_ Sakura? What happened to Sakura-chan? Is she okay? Sasuke! Goddamn it, teme! What happened to her!"

The dark haired genin leaned back, slightly startled by the blond's outburst. Though... he probably should have expected it. After all... _'Sakura is her most precious person, right?_'

A wry smile appeared on Sasuke's face, unsettling the blond for a moment. What was wrong with the teme? "She's fine. She's out eating. It's been three days since we got here. We have the rest of today and tomorrow before the second portion of the exam ends."

"I see..." An awkward silence fell over them, both not knowing where to go from here. Naruto's brows furrowed as she thought back to that battle in the forest and her heart clenched a bit as she thought about how disappointed she'd been in her teammate. Why... why had he-

"Naruto."

Startled out of her thoughts, Naruto turned to face the Uchiha, blue eyes gazing at him questioningly. "Yeah, teme?"

"... I'm sorry."

Her eyes widened as her mouth fell slightly open. _Two_ apologies in _one_ conversation? What was the world coming to? "Huh?"

"Back there... You were right. Everything you said back there was right. I shouldn't have told you to run and I shouldn't have tried to give the scroll away. Everything you-"

The blond couldn't help it. She snorted. Onyx eyes narrowed as a disgruntled scowl appeared on the genin's pale lips. Her lips twitched as her shoulders began to shake. Soon, it became to much for her and she burst out laughing, pointing madly at the Uchiha as peals of laughter rang throughout the room.

"HA HA HA! You said I'm right? Oh yeah! Who's the awesomeness? Who rules? I do, I do! I am the-"

"Oh shut up already!" he snarled, leaning back in his chair as he tried to reestablish his cool image.

"It's too late to get it back now! You've already ruined any chance you had at being a loner!" she crackled gleefully.

"I _am_ a loner and always have been!" he shouted out, face tinting a little. Oh, the curse of pale skin! She cracked up even harder. "Wait! That's not what I meant! I-"

"HA HA! You admitted it! Poor, little Uchiha-kun is a little, pathetic lon-"

"Now, now, Naruto-chan. We shouldn't tease loners. It's how crazy mass murderers are made. And it makes you a bully too!" Kakashi's eye curved happily as he hung from the ceiling above them.

With a high pitched scream, Naruto jumped up slightly as she stared with wide eyes at her sensei. "Where'd you come from, Kakashi-sensei?" she shouted, pointing at the silver haired cyclops.

"Maa... A good shinobi must never reveal his secrets." He chuckled lightly, scratching his head.

His students deadpanned. "You're just being lazy."

"How cruel my students are," he commented mildly as he jumped down to the ground, flipping coolly all the while.

Naruto rolled her eyes. "You should stop trying to act cool too, Kakashi-sensei. You're a bad example for the teme. Soon he'll probably be reading porn out in public and come late to all of his meetings. In fact, I think it would have been best if you'd just landed on your head. It would've been funnier."

Kakashi and Sasuke both raised an eyebrow simultaneously.

"See? My point proved!" She puffed up triumphantly as they both glanced at each other at the same time. They both turned back to her, looking scarily alike one another.

"No," came the chorus.

This time, _she_ raised an eyebrow. At that moment, the door opened revealing Sakura with a bagel in her mouth. The pink haired genin raised an eyebrow as she took in the scene. "Screwing around without me? How lonely."

The jinchuuriki snorted. "Don't worry. You didn't miss much, Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned happily. "I was just commenting that these two are gaining a creepy resemblance to one another and that Sasuke would probably start reading porn in public everywhere he goes soon."

Sakura let out a small smile. "I can see it," she teased lightly. The funny thing was she actually could. Which was pretty creepy.

And that was how the rest of the day was spent. Team seven teasing one another and joking around. Each trying to forget their troubles. Each trying to hide the turmoil lying just beneath the surface.

* * *

_That night, on the roof of the tower..._

Taking in a deep breath, Naruto let out a sigh of content. _'Much better,'_ she thought. _'I can actually breathe now! Stupid teme and his heavy head. Probably from that stupid ego of his!'_

"Naruto-kun? Aren't you supposed to be in the hospital wing still?"

Naruto turned her head slightly to see her pink-haired teammate settling down besides her. Resting her head on her arms, the blond leaned back to look up at the stars. "I'm perfectly fine. S'not like they could do much anyways."

"Hmm..." Sakura leaned back as well, deciding to join in the stargazing. "Hey, Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

There was a moment's hesitation before Sakura continued. "You've always said you loved me, right? Did you mean it?"

"Of course!" Naruto exclaimed. "Sakura-chan! You're my precious person! ALWAYS!"

Sakura let out a chuckle as she shook her head. Naruto frowned, sensing that she had just said the wrong thing. What... what was going on?

"Are you gay?"

"WHAT?" Naruto sputtered out, eyes wide as she stared. Where was this coming from? "Are you okay, Sakura?" Worriedly, Naruto got up, reaching out to examine her friend and teammate. She _looked_ healthy.

"Naruto! I'm fine!" Sakura scowled as she batted away the tanned hand. "Just answer the question!"

"... No?" The blond tilted her head questioningly before something seemed to click. "You don't have to worry, Sakura-chan! I'm not interested in Sasuke at all! You're the only one for me!" She let out a reassuring grin.

Ignoring the grin, Sakura asked another question - one that succeeded in making the girl freeze. "Then how can you love me in the way that you imply if you aren't gay? You're a girl after all!"

Naruto froze, her heart stopping for a moment. "What? Sa-sakura-chan! What... What are you talking about?" She let out a nervous chuckle, scratching the back of her head as her eyes shifted. "I'm a-"

"STOP LYING TO ME, NARUTO!" With strangled gasp, Sakura buried her head against her legs. "Just... stop lying to me. Please. I don't want to hear any more of your lies. Please! Just tell me the truth! What's going on?"

"Sakura-chan... I-"

"Don't avoid the question, Naruto. I just want to know. Have you been lying all this time? Do I even know you? I thought... I thought I could ignore it! I thought I could just get by! But today... I tried! I really did! But I couldn't help but feel sick! It all felt so fake to me!" Sobs could be heard by this point.

Biting her lip, Naruto lifted her hand out in comfort before clenching it into a fist. Resolutely, Naruto stared out into the dark abyss of the forest. "A long time ago... there was a girl who was very, very lonely. No one seemed to like her. She tried her best to be loved but no one would. The only person that was nice to her was the Hokage. But he was a very busy man so she barely got to see him. Most of the village would glare at her with hateful eyes that hurt. Whenever she tried to play with someone, their parents would hastily lead them away. The girl's dream was to be Hokage because everyone loved the Hokage. She wanted to be loved like that too."

The sobs slowly turned to sniffles as Sakura began to lift her head to look at the blond.

"One hot, summer day... she heard a giggle. Looking up, she spotted a pink haired girl and was convinced she saw an angel. The girl was so pretty that that was all she could be."

Sakura let out a small smile. _'Trying to flatter me at a time like this? Really, Naruto...'_

"'Ne, why are you here by yourself?' the angel asked. 'Do you wanna play with me?' The girl was amazed! The angel wanted to play with her! For a moment, she was afraid that it was all just a dream. That... if she grabbed that hand, it would all disappear and she'd be all alone by herself again. But she decided to risk it. She'd suffered through it before. She could do it again. So she grasped that hand. And the girl didn't fade away. She was still there.

"The angel introduced herself as 'Ha-ru-no Sakura' and said they would be friends. They played together until the angel was called away. It was probably the happiest day of the girl's life. The angel promised to play again so the girl waited. And waited. But the angel never came."

Sakura let out a gasp. "Oh Naruto... I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I didn't... I don't..."

Naruto smiled at her teammate with the softest eyes Sakura had ever seen before. Bringing a finger just before her lips in the universal sign for silence, she continued with her story. "But, you know. The girl was perfectly okay with it. She understood. It was okay if the angel never came. She was more than the girl deserved. Even still... she waited day by day by day. One day, she heard crying in the forest. Puzzled by it, she went closer to the sound and what did she see? She saw the angel crying. That girl felt ashamed, you know..."

"Ashamed? What-"

"The girl waited day by day for the angel to come but the day she finds the angel is when the angel is crying. She should have gone out and looked for this 'Ha-ru-no Sakura' angel instead of just waiting. Maybe then she wouldn't have been crying. The girl could have acted as a buffer against all the bad things that would have made the angel cry. Instead, she had waited and, so, the angel suffered. When the girl tried to comfort the angel, she was rooted to the spot. She couldn't do it. She wanted to comfort her _so_ badly but she wasn't able to move from her spot. She just _stood there_ as the angel continued to cry. She never felt so pathetic. And the worst part is, in some deep, dark part of her, the girl almost felt as though the angel deserved it for leaving her."

Self-disgust littered the tone at the end and Sakura knew that Naruto stilled blamed herself and hated herself for that moment. "But Naruto! That wasn't-"

"The girl stood there, just staring at the spot. Even after the girl left, she stood there. Not doing anything. She decided then and there that she would do anything to help the girl."

"Naruto?" Sakura murmured after a moment's pause. Slowly, Naruto began to continue.

"She secretly watched the angel as much as she could to see how she could help her. After a while, she learned that the angel didn't have much confidence. The angel's peers teased her about her forehead you see. Personally, the girl thought the angel's forehead was much better than the other girl's ugly looks. She secretly believe the other girls were jealous. But still... it made the angel sad. So the girl decided to aim at helping the angel with that problem. She thought and thought and thought. Then one day, she overheard a conversation where someone said that having a boy fawn over them boosted their confidence. It struck her like lightening!"

Sakura could already see where this was headed and she felt a headache coming on. _'You've got to be kidding me. Naruto... You changed your gender for this? It was... it was... so Naruto!'_ A small smile found its way onto her lips. She still didn't appreciate being lied to over all those years but... She felt loved. _'Oh Naruto!'_

"She would be a guy! She'd fawn over her precious angel! She'd... She'd give up on her dream of being Hokage."

The pink haired genin's eyes widened. "What! Why?"

Naruto closed her eyes as she leaned back. "A Hokage is supposed to love and protect the whole village. The village is the most important thing to a Hokage. But the girl decided to protect only the angel and put her before all else. So she gave it all up. Because the angel was worth it. Every day, as a boy, the girl would express her love to the angel. Because... she truly did love her, you know. Maybe not romantically but... she really did love her. And that... that was how Uzumaki Naruto was born. Uzumaki Naruto, self-declared secret protector of one Haruno Sakura."

Sakura looked at her teammate - really looked at her - and took a deep breath. "Naruto?" The blond turned to gaze at her. "You... IDIOT!"

SLAP!

Face turned to the side, Naruto found herself frozen with wide eyes.

"Do you think that I'd be happy that someone gave up their dreams for me? Do you think I'm happy that someone gave up being a girl for me? Do you think I'm still as weak as I was back then? I may not be as strong as you and Sasuke, but I'm working towards it!" Hugging Naruto to her, Sakura continued. "Thank you, Naruto. For all that you've done. You've helped me so much throughout the years without me knowing it. I'm so thankful to have known you and have had you here with me."

Moving away slightly, Sakura cupped Naruto's face with her hands. Green eyes locked with shocked blue ones. "I don't want to be weak anymore, Naruto-chan. I don't need you to be male for me anymore. I don't want a protector. I want you to take up your dreams of Hokage. I want you to be my friend. Will you be my friend, Uzumaki Naru?"

Slowly, tears began to trickle down Naruto's cheeks as she began to chuckle. "Ha... ha ha ha... That... that was so cheesy, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura huffed. "Like your story was any better!"

"Ha ha ha!" Laughing loudly, Naruto clutched her stomach as she leaned against her friend. Composing herself, she let out a beaming smile. "Haruno Sakura, resident angel, it would be a _pleasure_ to be your friend!"

The two girls exchanged beaming smiles.

* * *

_Two days later, Day of the Chuunin Exam Preliminaries..._

"NO! Don't you dare, Sakura-chan!"

"GODDAMN IT, NARU! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!"

"GET THAT SHITTY CONTRAPTION AWAY FROM ME THEN!"

"It's _not_ a 'shitty contraption,' Naruto! Now _get your ass back here_, NOW!"

"BUT SAKURA-CHAN!"

"NARUTO! Here. Now. You owe me!"

Moments later, Sakura and Naruto both came out of the room dressed... normally.

"I don't get it. There was nothing wrong with the clothing!"

"I would've felt exposed."

A weary Sakura rolled her eyes, grumbling about stupid blonds. Honestly, why the hell was she fighting so much? She'd _told_ her that she didn't need to be a guy. The clothes weren't even that girly anyway! Just some black spandex shorts and an orange tank/black jacket combo. Her eyes shifted to her left as she eyed her teammate's hidden bust. They might not have been Hinata's boobs but they were still pretty big... _So_ not fair.

"Stop staring at my breasts, Sakura-chan. You look like you're about to molest them to check if they're genjutsu or not, you pervert."

"EH? NARUTO!" Blushing, Sakura stared forward. "Besides, they're hidden. It's not like I'd feel anything." Naruto snickered. Halfway down the hallway, they met up with their Uchiha teammate who raised an eyebrow at Sakura's red face but didn't comment.

Some moments later, Sasuke couldn't help it. "I didn't know you were such a pervert, Sakura. Groping another girl's breasts? You're worse than I am. At least I do it accidentally."

_'So he knew..._' Sakura thought, eye twitching even as her two teammates argued in the background. Was she the only one on the team who didn't know?

Ten minutes later, they found themselves in an indoor arena with two balconies. The jounin instructors had assembled in the front of a statue of two hands gathered into a seal. Taking their places, they found that all of the rookies as well as team Gai had made it to the tower. With stiff backs, they waited for the Hokage to start his speech.

"First off, for the second test, congratulations on passing!"

In the crowd of jounin, Anko gazed at the genin, surprised at the number. _'21 genin. Ha. I said half but I was still expected single digits. Good thing I didn't actually make that bet with Ibiki. Would have lost my dango money.'_

"You have all managed to-"

"HO HO HO HO! I see you've finally given up on Sasuke-kun! Figured out that I'm much better than you, have you?"

All in the arena turned to stare at the blond who had made the outburst. A blond who wasn't Naruto, for once.

Sakura smirked, unlinking her arm with Naruto's. "Naruto is a girl, Ino."

Ino frowned, suddenly worried for her ex-friend's health. "What are you talking about, pinky? He's obviously male!"

Chuckling under her breath, she quickly divested Naruto of her shirt _and_ jacket in one swift moment. "SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto squacked, gaping at her teammate in horrified uncertainty. Several of the males in the room obtained a mysterious nosebleed as the females winced at seeing the squished boobs. That had to _hurt_.

**"MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! REVENGE FOR ALL THOSE YEARS YOU TRICKED ME, NARUTO!"** Inner Sakura crackled madly.

Back in the crowd of jounin, Kakashi wanted to groan. He was _so_ going to get in trouble for this.

Ino stared in disbelief. Real? Girl? What the hell? There was no way! Her face set with determination, Ino stomped towards the girl on the ground and crouched in front of her, staring with narrowed eyes.

"What, Ino-pig?"

"KAI!" Nothing happened.

Scowling, Ino put her hands forward - onto Naruto's breasts. She squeezed. And squeezed. And squeezed some more. More nosebleeds occurred.

"OI! Stop it! Hey hey!"

Stepping back, Ino stared at her hands with wide eyes. "Naruto... you're... you're a girl?"

Rubbing her chest protectively, Naruto nodded, getting up. "Yeah."

Ino stared at her and Sasuke in horror. "No! You can't be a girl! What about my yaoi fantasies? Turn back into a GUUUYYYY!"

With a groan and a quickly muttered "Troublesome," Shikamaru walked over to his teammate. "Get back over here, Ino. You're just making a fool of yourself. Naruto's always been a girl."

"YOU KNEW?" came the outburst.

Chewing on some chips, Chouji tilted his head. "You didn't?"

"Even Chouji?" Sakura muttered to herself bewilderedly.

"Who else knew?" Ino screeched, unable to take it in. Several hands raised. "Hinata? Kiba? Shino? ALL OF YOU?"

"Us too," Sakura muttered, rubbing her head. How the hell did _all of them_ know?

"How the hell did all of you know?" Ino exclaimed, unintentionally voicing out Sakura's question.

"I have a good nose," Kiba explained, shrugging.

"I-I h-have Bya-Byakugan," Hinata stuttered, looking to the side.

"... Bugs," was all Shino offered.

"And you both?" Ino turned to glare at her teammates.

Chouji shrugged. "Shikamaru told me."

"It wasn't that hard. She just came in as a girl one day and a guy the next. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

"And none of you thought to tell me!"

"What does it matter?"

Several of the jounin instructors colored, having never noticed that Naruto was a girl despite having known her for all her life. Meanwhile, Naruto was in shock that so many people had known her secret.

Unfortunately, as interesting as this series of events had been, life must move on. "Ahem," the Hokage interrupted, chuckling inwardly. This is what Naruto deserved for all the work that went into hiding her gender. All that paperwork... "As interesting as this is, I think it'd be best to let me explain some things? I'm sure you can carry this conversation on at a further point in time."

The genins blushed in embarrassment. "Hai, Hokage-sama. We apologize for the interruption."

"Now, before I beginning explaining the third portion of the Chuunin exam, there's something I'd like you to know. I'd like to explain the true reason for this exam. Why do we have all the allied countries taking the exam together? 'To promote friendship among the countries.' 'To raise the level of shinobis.' I don't want you to be confused about the true meaning. The exam is..." There was a pause before he continued, "A replacement for war between the allied countries. If you go back in time, the allied countries were enemies who would fight one another for territory. In order to prevent wasteless fighting, the countries decided to create a stage for battle. _That_ is the origin of the chuunin exam."

"What the fuck? What the hell's that all about? Isn't it just so that we can get promoted?" Naruto burst out, unable to hold it in.

"It is true that this exam is held to promote genin to chuunin," the Hokage agreed. "However, this exam is two faced. The other side of the coin is a battle for prestige."

"Prestige...?"

"Leaders and influential figures from around the world - people who make up our clients - are going to be watching the third portion of the exam. If a country comes off as strong, they'll receive more clients. Likewise, the opposite is true. Those who are seen as weak will lose clients. This will also signal to enemy countries that 'Our country has this much power.' It'll send a political message to other countries. The strength of the country is the strength of the village. The strength of the village is the strength of the shinobi. A shinobi's strength is born only through life-risking battle. This exam is a place to show off your country's strength and your own. It is only meaningful because it has risk and that is why those before you have fought in this exam for this dream that is meaningful."

"Then what was the point in telling us that it was for friendship?" Tenten asked, confused at the contradictory statements.

"As I said before, I don't want you to confuse the meaning of this. Losing lives and establishing peace between nations - that is the friendship of the shinobi. Before we begin this test, just let me say one more thing... This is a life-risking battle with your lives and your country's prestige on the line. Now... I'd like to explain the third task but, unfortunately..."

"Hokage-sama. Please excuse my interruption. But as the referee, will you allow me, Gekkou Hayate to explain?"

The Hokage raised an eyebrow at the interruption but nodded. "By all means."

"Hello everyone," Hayate said, turning around. Several eyebrows raised as the sickly looking jounin was revealed. "Before the third portion, there's something you need to do," he explained between coughs. "There is a preliminary test to decide who gets to participate in the third event."

"Preliminaries?"

"What for?"

"Why are preliminaries needed?"

"It's because there are too many people here. As Hokage-sama explained earlier, a lot of influential figures will be coming to see the event. We are limited in time and the fights may take too long. So, by the rules of the Chuunin exam, we must reduce the number of candidates. So those who aren't feeling well or wish to quit, please step forward."

A few moments later, Kabuto stepped forward, hand raised. "Um, I'd like to quit."

"Yakushi Kabuto? Okay. Anyone else?"

"Naruto," Sakura murmured. "Don't you think you should quit as well? Just a few days ago you had a sword..."

The blond jinchuuriki smiled reassuringly at her teammate. "I'm perfectly fine. Don't worry." Strong eyes faced forward and Sakura couldn't help but feel confident as well.

_'Good luck, Naruto.'_

"Well then, let's begin."

Naruto grinned in anticipation. Even still... She couldn't shake the feeling that she had forgotten something... Something _very_ important. Oh well. Couldn't be that important if she forgot it right? Oh how she would _rue_ those words.

Absentmindedly, she rubbed at her left palm.

* * *

**Deleted Scene**

"I-I h-have Bya-Byakugan," Hinata stuttered, looking to the side.

It took a moment for it to sink in but, once it did, Naruto choked. "Hinata! You PERVERT!"

The genin turned to stare at the blond in confusion. How did Byakugan equate to pervert?

"You use your bloodline to look through people's clothing?"

Hinata's eyes widened as her face turned a bright red. And _that_, people, is how the Hyuuga line lost all respectability and were deemed as perverts.

**The end.**

* * *

A/N: It's... done? It's done! Crappy place to end it but... I thought this might be a good ending point! :D But... I have a feeling the next few chapters are going to _fail_. I _suck_ at battle scenes... and these are _all_ battle scenes pretty much. OTL Maybe some research will help?

**Q: When's the next chapter going to come out, you damn liar?**

**A:**I don't know... Anywhere between now and June? xD (runs from random flying objects)

**Q: Why a short time skip? What happened just after the last chapter?**

**A:** You know... I'm not really sure why I put in a time skip... Maybe it's because I took so long to update? It's probably because I forgot where I was going with everything. Don't worry, I'll figure out everything in the end. Have faith! Just don't trust in my updating abilities... Not anymore at least.

**Q: Why isn't Kusanagi mentioned in this chapter?**

**A:** She'll come up eventually... Just not here...

**Q: Is... Naruto still topless?**

**A:** Ah ha ha.. No. She put her shirt back on when everyone revealed they all knew.**  
**

And with that, it's the end! Review and tell me your thoughts please!


	18. Intermission

**A/N:** I should delete this. I really should. Oh well... feel free to read if you want.

**

* * *

No Matter What**

_Intermission_

HELLO EVERYONE-ttebayo! This is Naruto, your future Hokage of pure awesomeness, announcing that-

"'Future Hokage of pure awesomeness'? Ha! Naruto. Don't delude yourself."

Goddammit, Teme! Why are you ALWAYS interrupting me? Is it your life's mission to make me miserable?

"Hn. I'm just making sure that you don't trick some stupid idiots into believing that you'll ever be Hokage. I mean, really, everyone knows that-"

"-I'll be the future Hokage of pure awesomeness! Right? Right?"

Konohamaru? Et tu?

"Eh, two? Two what, nii-chan? I don't get it..."

You betray me-

"The gender-confused freak is commenting on what she considers your 'betrayal.'"

"Oh. But why was she/he talking about twos?"

... Does every have to freaking interrupt-

"It's french. It means 'And you?' It's some reference to Caesar."

Dammit, Teme! Your life is incomplete if you don't interrupt-

"Oh. Then... what's this 'French' and who the hell is this 'Caesar' that you're talking about? Isn't that salad dressing?"

Konohamaru! He's corrupted you! It's not to late to-

"It's RL shit."

Is everyone just going to ignore me...?

"Huh. I see... What's 'RL' mean?"

Fine then! I see how it is! I'll just wallow in my deep sea of-

"Real life. It's the three dimensional world people."

-devastation and self pity. When you all decide to remember me and find my-

"Oh. Does that mean that if we ever go into 3D, we'll magically understand?"

-dusty, old, rotting skeleton, know that it was ALL your-

"... Sure."

-fault! Ha! You can't-

"NarutooooOOOoooOOO! Finish the message, you idiot!"

Sakura-chan too? Does no one love me?

"Just do it!"

Sniff. Sniff. Fine! The whole point of this thing was to tell all readers that, despite the 5 months she's been away, WingsofHaine is still alive and kicking. She'll be back really soon (for real, this time).

That _was_ the whole point of this thing. But then people reviewed on this chapter and the author is greedy for reviews. She also knows that said people who reviewed most likely won't review anonymously since they sign on for a reason. SO! To combat this, she's leaving it up and posting chapter 18 on chapter 19. This is now just a place holder.

"She's wasted your time. We apologize." (is booted out)

"Hn. It's true. You did waste their time-" (is booted out)

"Eh? Where'd the scary nee-san and Naruto-niichan's uke go?" (is patted on the head)

Hey! Stop trying to steal my minion! Konohamaru! Don't fall for it! She's EVI- (is booted out)

"Naruto-niisan? Nii-san?"

...

"Oh well! Can I have a cookie?" (gives Konohamaru a cookie)

* * *

A/N: So... yeah. it's perfectly fine to skip this...


	19. Chapter 18

**Summary**: For her, she'd be willing to do anything... even give up her femininity. She'd be willing to be a guy... no matter what. All for her... Too bad Sasuke won't leave her be.

**standard disclaimers apply**

**A/N**: Okay... So like... this chapter is extremely... extremely late. It's even past my late deadline. (cough) But! But! I have my excuses! They involve... children. I was bombarded! Bombarded, I tell you! Not to mention, I'm actually rereading my own work in order to edit it. And! And! When I realized that I wouldn't be able to finish by the end of the month, I _did_ edit my note! Because of this and how long it's taking, I just skipped a whole bunch of chapters, worked on chapter 17 and then started working on 18. It might cause a bit of trouble later on but... well... meh. Instead of completely rewriting the last chapter, like I had planned, I ended up just fixing it so they're a bit more in character. Hopefully. I can't be too sure. It's been a while.

Most of you have probably forgotten what's happened so... Here's a **very, very **short summary to bring you up to where we are:

The preliminaries are about to begin. Everyone knows Naruto is a girl. Our favorite crossdresser (no, not Haku! Naruto!) has rubbed her left palm. Oh. No.

**Key**: "normal", _'thoughts'_, _"telepathic convo"_, **"Kyuubi/Inner Sakura"**

**

* * *

**

**No Matter What**

_Chapter 18  
_

While everyone was avidly listening to Hayate explain the instructions, Naruto was staring equally intently at her left hand. Slowly she clenched it into a fist, frowning when she realized the tingling _still_ wasn't going away. Something... was going on with her body and she couldn't understand just what it was. Rubbing her palm once more, she tuned back to the instructions just in time to see the board light up with two names: Uchiha Sasuke vs Akado Yoroi.

It was when they were instructed to move towards the upper levels and she caught a distinct whiff of _snake_ that the tingling grew to unbearable levels.

_"Orochimaru!"_ a strangely familiar voice growled.

Before she could even realize what was happening, Naruto found herself being dragged through the air by a katana that had miraculously found its way into her hand.

Eyes wide, she let out a startled yelp as her feet accidentally hit a few people. Somewhere behind her, she was _sure_ she heard people yelling for help. It took a moment for her to realize that it was _her_.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! OH MY GOD! HELP ME, KAKASHI-SENSEI!"

"Naruto! What the _hell_ are you doing? Put the sword down!" Sakura raged, waving a fist at her rampant teammate. "You're embarrassing me!"

"Does it _look_ like I'm doing this voluntarily?" Naruto yelled out, her right hand grabbing onto her left wrist as she futilely tried to dig her feet into the ground.

"No. But you _could_ just let go!" Sakura retorted, eye twitching.

Naruto's face lit up as she realized that everything would be solved if she just let the sword go. Laughing, she tried to release the sword only to realize that _her damn hand wasn't listening to her_. "You're so smart, Sakura-chan. I just have to - I can't let go! WHY WON'T MY HAND LISTEN TO MEEEEEE!" she wailed, as the sword swerved into the air, her body helplessly following along. She groaned as her stomach collided with someone's head.

"I'm sorry!" she gasped out as her feet smacked into the same person's privates. A pained yelp and groan answered her back. "I didn't mean to-ttebayoooooooo!"

Everyone froze in shock as the katana literally dragged the orange clad blond straight into the air and over all of their heads. The blond's face was contorted with both relief and pain. She was relieved that she wouldn't hit anyone this way but her shoulder was killing her now. Ignoring the pain, the jinchuuriki looked at the sword that was holding her up, it's blade gleaming a shiny silver that held a tinge of blue. "Where the fuck did this sword _come_ from?" Naruto groaned out, hanging her head slightly.

The katana twitched this way and that for a moment, acting almost like a dog sniffing the air. For a brief few moments, nothing happened. Then, the katana shot forward, headed straight towards a sound instructor who stared with wide-eyes as though in a state of dumbfounded disbelief. Then again, who wasn't? Whimpering as her body jerked forwards, Naruto let out a strangled scream of warning. "MOVE MOVE MOVE!"

Moments before the sword made contact with the jounin, he moved out of the way, jumping onto the ceiling. Unfortunately, the shining katana just changed its course and swerved upwards at a 90 degree angle and resumed heading towards the sound nin, almost breaking Naruto's wrist in the process. Despite the swords ability to change course swiftly, Naruto was not fortunate enough to be granted such a luxury. With a loud smack, the lower half of her body crashed into the ground with an intensity that made more than a few wince in pity at the bruises it would surely leave. The blond couldn't help but gasp in pain as her left arm was almost pulled out of its socket in the katana's fervent attempts to kill the long-haired sound nin.

"Learn to control your sword, you incompetent brat!" the jounin growled, finally getting his act somewhat together as he dodged another attack.

"It's not miiiiiiiine!" Naruto screeched, temper beginning to rise. "And I'm not a brat, you girly asswipe!"

With a curse, the sound nin jumped away once more, this time, heading for the wall just behind the statue of two hands forming a seal. Almost as though irritated, the sword stopped mid-air and twitched before gently, for once, lowering down to the ground so that Naruto was able to stand steadily. Well, as steadily as was reasonable for someone that had been dragged through the air and smacked around. For a second, everyone couldn't help but hope that was the end of it. Sadly, the katana was not yet done. Jerking back, the katana quickly slashed in a diagonal motion, calling forth a sharp burst of chakra induced wind. More than a few skirts lifted, as the blade of wind sliced its way over shinobi heads and headed straight for its intended victim.

"EH? THE STUPID SWORD STOLE MY CHAKRA!"

Busy glaring at the katana wielding genin who kept groaning out apologies through grunts of pain, the long-haired jounin barely managed to evade being killed by the attack, hissing as his leg was sliced. Missing the statue by a centimeter, the blade of wind sliced at the spot where the jounin's torso had been just moments before, leaving behind deeply engraved lines - an indication that, had the attack managed to make contact, the jounin would have been cut in half. The sword dashed forward into the air, headed, once again, for its target's heart. This time, the surrounding jounin were ready for it and were able to restrain Naruto just seconds before it made contact midair.

Despite having four jounin holding her back, each grabbing onto a limb, it was obvious they were having difficulty. Almost groaning in frustration, the Sandiame stepped forward, strongly wishing for his porn to help relax him. But, nooooo, it was undignified for a hokage to publicly read his porn. If he wasn't aware of the outrage amongst the female population that such a decree would garner, he would have made it absolutely necessary for each and every one of his shinobi to carry a volume of Icha Icha on them.

Turning to address the disgruntled and, more than understandably, angry jounin, he spoke. "It seems that your presence has created some sort of need to attack in this sword." As though agreeing with the statement, the katana jerked, managing to throw off the jounin that had been restraining Naruto's left arm. Wincing at the crash, the Sandiame continued. "I apologize for the inconvenience but perhaps it would be best for you to leave the area to get that leg looked at."

Scowling and glaring darkly at the jinchuuriki, the jounin nodded jerkily before rushing out. Stealthily, Kabuto followed, muttering some excuse about showing him the way to the infirmary, not that anyone was listening. They were all to entranced by the strange sword, waiting to see what would happen next.

As both disappeared, the sword stopped its painful attempts to pull Naruto's arm out of its socket and began to tremble, humming slightly. Slowly, all motion stopped before it began to glow. Eyes wider than ever before, the shinobi watched with bated breaths as the sword began to disappear _into_ Naruto's palm, hilt first. As the blade completely vanished away, the jounin let go of the astonished genin who quickly began examining her palm in surprise. There was no scar, no seal, no mark - nothing that would indicate that a sword had just sank its way into its depths.

With a cough, the Sandaime raised an eyebrow, puffing out a ring of smoke. "I think it would be best to resume the preliminaries?"

As though he had just said the magic words, everyone jerked into action, making their way towards the upper levels whilst steadily avoiding the blond jinchuuriki should that sword decide to appear again.

As everyone settled, the battle between Sasuke and Yoroi commenced. In the upper levels, the remaining members of Team 7 were questioning the subdued blond.

"Naruto! What _was_ that!"

Brows furrowed, Naruto pursed her lips, staring at her palm intently. "I... I don't know, Sakura-chan. I mean... My hands been tingling for a hile but.. I thought it was falling asleep or something. But it... It just... I don't know what happened! I don't even know where that sword had come from!"

_"That would be me," _the voice from before purred. _"I was trying to teach a rude piece of scum trash to mind their manners and treat their betters more politely."_

Looking around widely, Naruto tensed. "Who said that!"

Beside her, Sakura and Kakashi tilted their heads, worried about the crossdresser. "What are you talking about, Naruto? No one said anything."

_"I said it, of course."_

"That voice!" Naruto shouted. "Can't you hear it?"_  
_

_"They can't hear me, you idiot. It's not like I have a telepathic link with them. Nope, I chose you."_

"Telepathic link...?" the blond muttered, rubbing her head. "Who the hell are you?"

The voice sounded amused this time. _"If you just direct a few thoughts here and there at me, I would be able to hear you just as easily as if you talk, you know."_

_"... You didn't answer my question."_

_"What. You forgot me already? How inconsiderate," _the voice taunted. _"Well, if you want to know _that_ badly... I'm your conscience."_

"DAMMIT! JUST TELL ME ALREADY!" Naruto burst out, her temper getting ahold of her. Inside her mind, she could hear the unknown voice crackle in evil laughter.

"Naruto! What the hell!" Bonking her teammate on the head, Sakura scowled. "What is going on with you! Sasuke is fighting right now! What the hell did you want us to tell you anyways!"

Mentally cursing as she realized that she had said the last bit out loud, Naruto pasted on a smile as she searched for an excuse. Telling her that she heard voices in her head did not speak well of her sanity. "Erm... I wanted you to... tell me who won...?"

Sakura stared. "Didn't I just tell you they're still fighting? Naruto!"

Behind her, Sasuke cleared his throat, raising an eyebrow. "Actually I just finished. Nice to see my teammates cared enough to watch so avidly."

"Eh? But! But! I only looked away for a moment!" Sakura protested. "It can't be over that soon!"

"Hn."

Naruto scoffed, forgetting about the voice for a moment. "We all knew you were going to win anyway, teme. If you lost, I'd just beat you within an inch of your life!"

The raven haired genin rolled his eyes. "Like you could. Even if I was on my death bed, I'd probably still be able to beat you with my hands tied behind by back," he taunted back, smirking as his teammate got her vivacity back. She had been looking a little shaken by the events moments before.

"Why you little-"

"If I'm not mistaken, you're the smallest of us, Naruto. You have no right to call me _little_ when-"

"My my, what is my preciously perverted genin team talking about?" Kakashi cooed, leering pervertedly.

The three shivered. "Nothing what you have in mind."

"As I was saying," Sasuke continued, "you have no right to call me _little_ when Tazuna called you a midget, dobe."

"Teme!"

"Tch. _That's_ all you were talking about?" Kakashi muttered teasingly.

Eye twitching, Sakura clenched her fist. "DAMMIT, KAKASHI-SENSEI! FOR THE LAST TIME, WE WEREN'T TALKING ABOUT THE SIZE OF SASUKE'S PENIS!"

Though, undoubtedly, she had not meant for it to be that loud, her roar rang throughout the arena. Silenced reigned for a moment as everyone in the room, even the two in the midst of fighting, stared at the group. The Sandaime couldn't help but wonder if he had created a team of perverts by putting children under Kakashi's instruction. Grinning with no remorse whatsoever, Kakashi snickered. "I never said a word to suggest so! But, I guess we know where your mind has been Sakura-chan. Why, who knows! You may take over my position as pervert of the team soon!"

Naruto couldn't help but let out a wail of horror at the thought. "NOOOOOOO! Not Sakura-chan! She's _pure_!"

"Hn. You sounded like you were a desolate father worrying about the chastity of his precious virgin daughter just then, dobe," Sasuke commented, automatically falling into the team routine of teasing one another.

"Yup. I must agree if I do say so myself!" Kakashi nodded, crossing his arms. "You should watch out, Sakura-chan. If this goes on, before you know it, you'll be 55 and still a virgin. You'll never experience the wonders of sex."

"ARE YOU TRYING TO GET SAKURA-CHAN PREGNANT! YOU PEDOPHILE! MOLESTOR!"

Kakashi looked at Naruto in horror. "I'm not _that_ old! I'm still in my twenties!" he protested, choosing to ignore the pregnant business altogether. Honestly, hadn't she ever heard of _safe sex_?

"SHE'S 12!"

"Kakashi. What the _hell_ are you teaching your kids?" Kurenai interrupted, unable to stay silent any longer. Naruto froze as she recognized the voice back at the hospital wing when she was dying. The scary conversation...!

"I've only taught them how to be ninja!" Kakashi objected, raising both hands to show his innocence. "The pervertedness is _completely_ all theirs. I don't do a perverted thing whatsoever around them!"

"LIAR!" both Naruto and Sakura claimed with a sharp agreeing nod from Sasuke.

"You constantly read Icha Icha in front of us!" Sakura growled, angry at being called a pervert.

"And what about that time you tried to read Icha Icha Violence - which I remember you saying was distinctly more perverted than Icha Icha Paradise - _out loud_ to us when we were out during our training camp!" Naruto recounted heatedly, the embarrassment from that time adding onto her anger.

"And that time when you-"

Kakashi grabbed both their mouths, smiling placatedly. "I think that's enough!"

Sasuke smirked. "There was also that time when you-"

The silver haired jounin gave a killing intent laced glare. "I _said_ that that was enough."

The three shrugged, happy with the damage done. Kurenai was already steaming mad. "_Kakashi._"

"Now now," Kakashi chuckled. "So I may have done _some_ things-"

"Dammit Kakashi! I can't do anything about your hobbies but try to keep them to yourself! Honestly, I've never met anyone so-"

"What about you, lady!" Naruto interrupted, feeling a bit bad for her sensei. After, it wasn't really as bad as they made it out to be. Really. Okay, so maybe it was but they knew to ignore him! Honestly! Alright, so there was that one time where he had tricked her into going into that brothel. And that other time where he... Why was she doing this again...?

Kurenai frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You were talking with that dango lady about selling naked pictures of me and Sasuke to fangirls before people just a couple of days ago!"

"How... How did you-" Kurenai's face was bright red as she stuttered.

"What's up with that anyways? Dango-ttebayo? Everyone knows ramen is the best!"

"Hey! Dangos the best!" Anko argued, scowling at the brat who dared to question the god that is dango.

"Dammit, dobe! We already had this conversation! Omusubi with okaka and tomatoes beat all of them!"

"Wait. I thought we said that umeboshi and anmitsu ruled...?"

"Hmmm... I distinctly remember salt-broiled saury and miso soup with eggplant winning that."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Wait!"

"But I thought-"

"Dammit! I _said_-"

"Fucking brats! Dango-"

"Ramen!"

"Omusubi-"

"Umeboshi-"

**"Anmitsu!"  
**

"Saury-"

"Ahem!" Ino interrupted, rolling her eyes. "As much as I'd like to inform you that you're all wrong since cherry tomatoes and pudding are the best, Sakura! Get down here so I can whoop your butt! It's our turn to battle!"

In one unison motion, all the distracted leaf nin turned to look at the board. In bright coloring, the words "Haruno Sakura vs Yamanaka Ino" flashed tauntingly at them. Slightly embarrassed at the display they had made, everyone went back to their original positions as Sakura headed down.

_"You know, in a place where you're supposed to be displaying the power of your village, Konoha shinobi act pretty childishly. I mean, really... Arguing about which food trounces which...?"_

_"Oh. You're back? Go away. Sakura-chan is up! I don't have time for you, someone who won't tell me who they are."_

_"I'll have you know that I have told you who I am."_

_"You are _not_ my conscience."_

The voice snorted._ "Of course not. I wouldn't want to be either. And I have told you. You just don't remember. Here's a hint: I have silver hair and you've seen me recently."_

_"...erm... Kabuto-san? But... I thought he was a boy! Unless... he's like Haku."_

_"You've got to be kidding me."  
_

_"I'm wrong? Then... erm... Kakashi-sensei? Kakashi-sensei is a girl? NO WAY!"_

_"..."_

_"Hey... are you still there?"_

_"..."_

_"Hellooo?"_

_"..."_

_"... Oh c'mon! Kakashi-sensei! I know it's you! Fine! Be that way!"_

_"..."  
_

"Go Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered, earning a groan from Sakura.

"Shut up, Naruto!"

Ino looked off the side. Despite her earlier boasts, she felt unsure for a moment. She had always _helped_ Sakura. But now...? "Sakura. You know... I never thought I'd be fighting you."

In one smooth motion, Sakura reached behind and untied the hitai-ate she'd been using as a headband, to the shock of many around them.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto muttered, squinting slightly at the scene. "What are you doing...?"

Reaching up, Sakura retied the hitai-ate so that it protected her forehead. She smiled, eyes burning with fire and resolve. Across from her, a silent message was delivered and Ino fixed her own hitai-ate to match. In unison, they tensed, prepared for battle.

Up in the stands, Naruto watched, a dead weight settling into her stomach. Distantly, she wondered if anyone noticed the connection those two still shared, even after all these years of rivalry. A connection she was still unable to match. For a scary moment, she felt entirely alone, despite being surrounded by others.

Unnoticed by those around them, a hand reached out the blond's and laced their fingers. Startled, Naruto looked up and stared questioningly. The hand clenched and Naruto smiled, looking back. She didn't feel alone anymore.

* * *

**A/N**: So now Naruto thinks Kakashi is a girl that talks in her head and Kakashi's perverted influence is becoming extremely apparent to all around. Not to mention, Leaf's eccentric tendencies are becoming all the more apparent. Oh, and if no one got it, "The hand" is Sasuke.

If you're wondering about that whole food argument, I went to the Naruto wikia to get all their favorite foods, so there _is_ some basis. :D

It's a short chapter. I know, I know. But, in my defense, I _am_ just getting back into the groove of writing.

Hope you had fun! Please review!


	20. Chapter 19

**Summary**: For her, she'd be willing to do anything... even give up her femininity. She'd be willing to be a guy... no matter what. All for her... Too bad Sasuke won't leave her be.

**standard disclaimers apply**

**A/N**: So... I've updated. I have this feeling that I should apologize. So I will. I can't say I haven't had time because, to be honest, I have. My quarter ended and I've been on break for the last three weeks. It's only on my last few days that I've decided to update this. I can't even really say I've been having a block because I've known how this battle would go since way back. Though, it _was_ harder than I thought it'd be to actually write. D: So, basically, I've been lazy and thus the apology. I'm sorry. I don't even know how future updates will go since that'll largely depend on how hard my classes are going to be. At the very worst, I'll update sometime in the summer. Hopefully it won't ever get to that point since I'll have spring break but I just thought I'd put it out there. Ha ha... Fail.

**recap**: Through a small amount of skill and more than a small amount of luck, Sakura managed to trick Orochimaru into thinking she was Sasuke as he was about to give Sasuke his mark of doom. This then causes Sakura to obtain the cursed seal. Of course, before it could do any damage, inner-Sakura got a hold of things. Naruto, on the other hand, got a sword that magically seems to pop out of her hand and a voice in her head that she's convinced is Kakashi. The preliminaries have started and, this time, there's no Orochimaru and Kabuto to watch.

**Key**: "normal", _'thoughts'_, _"telepathic convo"_, **"Kyuubi/Inner Sakura"**

**

* * *

**

**No Matter What**

_Chapter 19  
_

Staring into Ino's blue eyes, Sakura couldn't keep the memories of days long gone from flooding through her brain. Their initial meeting, the friendship that struck up, their break up and the subsequent rivalry that followed it. For a brief moment, she wondered whether or not Sasuke had even been worth it. After all, he was never going to be hers. Anyone with eyes could see he was infatuated with Naruto. Fangirl though she may be, even she knew when to give up. But, staring into her rival's eyes, she knew that their friendship wasn't gone, no matter what they may say. It had never broken. And she felt so utterly thankful.

_'You were my goal, Ino-chan. I had always wanted to grow to become someone just like you. But... I think it's time that I give up that dream and become someone equal to you. Someone equal to my teammates! It's time to rise up and surpass you!'_

Across from arguably her closest friend, Ino, seeing her rival's eyes and her actions, instantly received the message the pink haired genin had been trying to convey. Before she could help it, she felt an immeasurable amount of pride for the girl as well as a hint of sadness. That bud from so long ago was finally blossoming into a strong and beautiful flower. Smiling inwardly, Ino tensed her body, ready to move within a split second's notice.

Simultaneously both burst off the ground, speeding towards each other. Hands drawing together into a Bunshin no Jutsu, Sakura smirked, knowing that Ino was underestimating her. _'Time to bring her up to speed in the most fun way possible - violence!'_

Sending a burst of controlled chakra to her feet, Sakura launched herself through the air, instructions on the perfect punch flying through her brain. Surprised at the painfully hard punch to her jaw, Ino flew through the air, just barely managing to land on her feet. "Get serious, Ino! I'm not the same brat from so long ago! I've grown up!"

Rubbing her jaw, Ino replied back. "I'm so glad you said that. I would have felt bad, beating up a wimpy brat. I don't enjoy being a bully, after all."

Up in the stands, all of Team Ten couldn't help but scoff at the lie. _'Don't enjoy being a bully my ass!'_ they all thought, remember various training sessions that she had, for lack of a better word, _bullied_ them into doing.

"Yes! Go Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered, stilling holding onto Sasuke's hand, not that she really noticed. "I knew she was amazing like that! Did you see that punch?" Beside her, her raven haired teammaate rolled his eyes.

"Calm down, dobe. The real battle hasn't even really started. Sakura's just barely warming up. That punch was more of a way to get Ino up to focus as opposed to the start of the battle."

Naruto scowled up at him, feeling slightly offended at having the battle explained to her. She _had_ been watching Sakura for years, after all. One would think she'd be able to break down her actions just as well if not better than anyone other than experts in the field of people analyzing. "I _know_ that, teme! It doesn't mean that wasn't a good punch! It was solid, had nice impact and sent her opponent flying, creating enough space so that she has the time and space to think and carry out strategies to beat her opponent. It was a good punch was all I was saying!"

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say." Sasuke smirked down mockingly at her. "If it makes you feel better, you can pretend that's what was going on."

"Teme!"

"Now, now, brats. Calm down and watch the battle again. Support your teammate!" Kakashi interrupted, attempting to placate his team before any battles broke out. They looked so cute holding hands that it'd be a shame if they let go just to punch one another!

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in remote disbelief. "None of you were paying attention to _my_ battle."

"Well, yes. But you're not a girl. Where's the fun in seeing to men fight?" he questioned, giggling pervertedly. "Two girls fighting, on the other hand... Now _that's_ entertainment."

"Pedophile! You stay away from - Sakura-chan!"

In the arena, the battle between the two rivals had degenerated into a fist fight, no real jutsus having been used. Punch for punch they were evenly matched. Naruto turned back just in time to see both girls receive a punch that sent both flying away from the other. Ten minutes had passed by in this deadlocked battle.

_'This is bad. We're dead even physically. Shit! I knew I should have trained more! I can't even use the genjutsus I learned since the Yamanakas are trained in the mind arts and are able to spot and avoid genjutsu! Even Ino could spot and avoid the repertoire of techniques that I've learned so far!'_

Breathing heavily, Ino snapped. "Ugh! There's no way you could be even with me!"

"Heh." Sakura sighed mockingly, shaking her head from side to side. "Well, of course we're not even. I'm better, after all. How could I be even with someone who only cares about growing her hair and looking pretty?"

"Your hair is just as long, forehead-girl!" Ino taunted, flicking her bangs to the side briefly before it fell back in place.

Sakura looked picked up a strand of her hair and looked at it before raising an eyebrow. "Oh this? This isn't important." As if to prove just how unimportant it was, Sakura grabbed all of her hair and sliced through it with a kunai, giving herself a bob. "I've been meaning to get a haircut. It was getting in the way."

In the stands, Naruto stared in shock at the pink hair that littered the floor, vaguely reminded of that time so long ago when she had done just the same. Despite the nonchalance Sakura had displayed at her new haircut, Naruto knew it was as simple as she made it out to be. It was a message. One that she understood, though it wasn't necessarily directed at her or anyone, really. In her own way, Sakura was saying that she was independent now, able to stand on her own. She was ready to be a real shinobi. She was giving up on her childish ways. It was at that moment that Naruto finally accepted that Sakura had grown up. Naruto... was no longer needed and it scared her to death.

Beside her, Sasuke felt her trembling and squeezed, offering his comfort in the only way he knew how. He may not entirely know what was bothering her now but he would support her and be there for her, no matter what.

Ino's face contorted into a mask of rage. Unwilling to be beaten, she took out her own kunai and gave herself a haircut as well. "ORA! I DON'T NEED THIS!" she yelled, throwing the strands of hair in the space between the two of them.

Raising a taunting eyebrow, Sakura smirked. "Copying your opponent now? How pitiful!"

Growling, Ino let out a scream of rage. "Oh that is it, Forehead! I've had it! I'm going to end this right now! I'm going to make "I give up" come out of your mouth if it's the last thing I do!" she cried, drawing her hands together in a seal.

"Um... Hey... No way...!" Shikamaru muttered, unwilling to believe his teammate had lost it so much that she'd be that stupid. Did she really forget all those strategy sessions they'd had? As her fingers grew together in her family seal, the genius let out a groan. "I knew it! She's going to do Shintenshin! That idiot!"

Sakura let out a disbelieving laugh. "I can understand that you're desperate but... that's useless, Ino-pig."

The blond just smirked. "We'll see about that."

Sighing, Sakura rolled her eyes. "Ninpo, Shintenshin no Jutsu. By projecting your spiritual energy at your enemy, you're able to take control of their body for a few minutes. Unfortunately for you, if I dodge that, you're screwed since it's not only slow but also takes time for your spiritual energy to go back to your body. You'll be immobilized for a few minutes and in that time I'll have won the battle. If you're going to try that, then just give up, Ino-pig!"

"So what! We won't know until I try!"

Shikamaru gripped the railings harder. _'Idiot! It's only useful in battle combined with my Shadow no Jutsu! She's right! It's useless here!'_

"Shintenshin no Jutsu!"_  
_

The next few moments shocked more than a few people. It turns out that Ino was paying attention to those strategy sessions. She had managed to trick everyone. With Sakura secured in place, Ino locked onto her target for real now. Smirking in assured victory, Ino gathered her chakra and called out her technique, this time actually performing.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

* * *

_Sakura's mindscape..._

Looking around, Ino smiled. "Beat that, Sakura! You're mine now!" Secure in the knowledge that she would win, the blond metaphorically dived through her rival's mindscape looking for the motor controls she needed to find. More than ever, she was glad that Sakura was so smart since that meant her mind was organized and finding the main control station for her brain was easy. Before she could do anything, however, she heard a voice.

**"Ino-pig? What are you doing here? No! Get out!"**

Whipping around, Ino was surprised to see a large, black and white version of an armored Sakura wrestling with a snake, the words "Inner Sakura" emblazoned across her forehead. "What? Sakura? But... I've already taken over your mind! How's this possible!"

**"Goddammit, Ino-pig! There's no time! For once in your life, listen to me! Get out! It's dangerous! The little fucker is tricky!"**

"What? Sakura, what's up with snake? I know you're a woman but, honestly! A snake? What is going on?" Ino was utterly confused. This had never happened before. It wasn't supposed to happen! And what was with Sakura's language?

**"Just get out!"** Inner Sakura roared, whacking the snake's head against an invisible wall. **"You're in the way!"**

Biting her lips, Ino shook her head. "I... I can tell that somethings wrong. I don't know what that snake is but if you're fighting it then it can't be good. I can help! Let me help! Just tell me what to do! You're my friend, Sakura! Let me help you!"

**"As good,"** she grunted, cursing slightly as a tail slammed against her midriff, **"as I'm sure you're intentions are... I don't want it. You're in the way. Get out!"**

Ignoring her words, Ino ran forward, determined to help her friend and rival. Cause, dammit, _she_ was the only one allowed to do anything to Sakura! "Get away from Sakura!" she yelled, slamming her fist into the snakes tail. Hissing in anger, the snake whipped it's body across Sakura's arms, loosening her grip enough for it to heads towards Ino. It was only Inner Sakura's quick reactions that save Ino from getting swallowed whole by the snake.

In a moment of pure unrestrained rage, Inner Sakura roared at her. **"DAMMIT! WILL YOU FUCKING LISTEN TO ME? IT'S DANGEROUS HERE! GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY MIND! YOU'RE DISTRACTING ME!"**

It had only been a moment but that moment was all it had needed. She'd been distracted, yelling at Ino, and her grip had loosened just the slightest bit. Taking the chance it had, the snake twisted swiftly in her grasp and sank it's fangs into the nearest available piece of skin it had, its poison leaking even before it had pierced anything.

Time had paused for a second as everyone stared at the two holes that now pierced Inner Sakura's arm. **"You bastard,"** she growled, advancing towards the snake. **"I'll kill you!"**

But the seal just snickered, it's eyes glittering a maliciously fierce purple. _It'sss too late, brat. I've won._ It's last words hissed, it shattered into thousands of pieces of purple dust, it's job done.

Inner Sakura stared in shock, unwilling to believe what had happened. The little fucker disappeared! Before she could get revenge! Clenching her fists, she growled. It was time to figure out the damage then. **"Fuck."**

Beside her, Ino shook, biting her lips and trying not too cry. She had screwed up. This was her fault. "I... I'm so sorry! I... I..."

As if brought to life by Ino's apologies, Inner Sakura rounded on her, glaring. **"Shut up, Ino-pig. I don't need this. Get out. NOW!"** she roared when she didn't see Ino move.

"I... I..."

**"If you aren't going to get out yourself," **she growled, picking up Ino, **"then I'll just kick you out myself."** Despite her words, however, Inner Sakura paused for a moment before throwing her out. **"Ino."**

Ino looked up, regret beaming through her. Staring straight into Inner Sakura's eyes, she nodded to show she was listening. "Yeah?"

**"Save her." **With those last cryptic words, Inner Sakura threw the blond out of her mind. Before coming back to reality, Ino was able to glimpse a spark of purple in the large girl's eyes.

* * *

_Real world..._

"What's going on? What happened? Is... Did Ino...?" Naruto leaned in closer almost falling over the railing.

"Careful, dobe," Sasuke muttered, pulling her back gently. "You'll fall over if you keep it up."

"But Sakura-chan!"

Turning his eyes back to the frozen battle, he frowned. "Just watch. Sakura's strong. She'll make it through."

Her eyebrows drew together for a moment before she nodded. "Yeah. Even if Ino managed to get through to her brain, Sakura's strong enough to kick her out! I just can't figure out why nothing is happening. I mean... they've been standing there for a while now..."

"Ino," Shikamaru muttered, staring at the two kunoichi down below. "What are you doing?"

As if spurred on by the impatience of those in the stands, several things happened at once. Ino fell back with a jerk, gasping desperately as she clutched at her chest. With eyes that only widen once they reached their destination, she stared at Sakura, unable to understand what had just happened and what was currently happening. Sakura, on the other hand, wasn't even paying attention to Ino. Screaming in pain, she fell to the floor only to burst out into laughter moments later. Vivid black markings ran across her face and over her arms.

Turning towards Ino, her eyes wide with insanity, Sakura smiled, cracking her neck. "Ino, Ino, Ino... Where were we? Oh yes. I was about to beat your large forehead into the ground."

"Sakura-chan...?" Breathing heavily, Naruto's grip on the railings tightened, her fangs unconsciously growing longer. Beside her, Kakashi let out a curse, jumping onto the railing. "What... That's not..."

Without even a second's notice, Sakura burst forward, slamming her fist repeatedly into Ino face and stomach, switching off in a blur so fast that few where able to tell just where she was hitting. Laughing wildly as she paused, Sakura examined her hand, clenching it into a fist as purple chakra burst out from her body in periodic spurts. "So this is what power feels like."

Staring at the wheezing and bloody blond, she brought her hands together in a seal, readying her chakra. Before she could do anything, however, several Konoha jounin moved at once, knocking her out even as Naruto threw herself over Ino with a cry of "No!", digging her fingers into the floor. Before darkness was able to claim her, Sakura's last view was of Naruto protecting her rival from _her_.

With a sigh of relief as the black marks retreated back into the seal, Kakashi picked up Sakura, running a hand through his hair. One student secure in his grasp, he walked over to Naruto, touching the jinchuuriki's shoulder. It was only as he leaned down to reassure her that he heard her mutters. "Not Sakura-chan... can't let you do this... regret... come back..."

Gripping the girl's shoulder ever tighter, he shook her. "Naruto, it's okay. Get up. I have her here. It's okay now."

Looking up sharply, Kakashi was surprised to see his student's slitted pupils. _'The Kyuubi?'_

Jerking noticeably, Naruto's pupils rounded once more. "Sakura-chan...?"

"Is fine. See?" he reassured her, gesturing towards the girl in his arms. "Just unconscious. Now get off Yamanaka-san so that the medic nins can treat her."

Looking around, Naruto noticed the faces that were rapidly getting irritated. Eyes widening, she jumped up, face red. "Ah! Erm... Sorry, sorry!" Brushing the dust off her pants, she walked towards the stairs, wanting to rejoin her teammate. Noticing that Kakashi wasn't following her, she looked back questioningly. "Sensei?"

"Go ahead. Gotta take care of some things," he answered, gesturing towards the girl in his arms once more. "I might miss your match."

Staring at her teammate with clenched fists, she nodded. "Help her," she ordered.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You aren't my superior, gaki. Now get your ass up there before I make you run around Konoha till sun down, upcoming match be damned."

"Due to complications, Haruno Sakura has been withdrawn and disqualified. Yamanaka Ino has been knocked out. The 4th preliminary match has no winner."

"WHAT?" Naruto shouted, unable to believe it. "How is that fair! Sakura-chan beat her! Yeah, things went out of hand but... but...!"

Frowning, Sasuke shook his head. "You saw her down there, Naruto. That wasn't Sakura beating Ino. It was something else. If it had gone on without whatever had happened, they both would have knocked each other out. They were too evenly matched."

"I know," the crossdresser muttered, looking away. "It doesn't mean I like it."

Rolling his eyes, he sighed. "Look at it this way. At least you don't have to fight your precious Sakura-chan, right?" he muttered wryly.

Naruto shrugged, staring back down at the two girls who were starting to fight. "She'd be strong enough to take it. I don't think I'm all that needed any more."

Surprised, Sasuke looked to stare at his blond teammate. "What?"

"She cut her hair," she explained. "A girl who needs protecting doesn't cut her hair carelessly like that. They do the fighting!" She laughed quietly, touching a short strand of hair. "I should know."

After staring at her for a moment, Sasuke turned his attention back to the battle as well. "Just because she's grown up doesn't mean that you aren't needed. Don't be so selfish."

"Eh?" Naruto gaped in disbelief. "Hey! How dare you criticize me for being selfish! You're the most selfish out of all of us!"

Sasuke smirked. "I thought I was the peacemaker and the most social out of you all. Not to mention I'm the least perverted. Face it. I'm the most normal." _'Eat that, Uzumaki!'_

"I... That... that was Sakura-chan! Not me!" she sputtered, unable to think of a comeback.

"Sure," he snickered.

"You stare at my butt!"

"And you just want to touch me. You're still more perverted."

"Why you! Well, who wants to be normal anyway! Normal people don't get anywhere! By not being normal, I'm more powerful than you!"

"Oh please, I can beat you with my hands tied behind my back!" he taunted, flicking her on the forehead in a move eerily reminiscent to a man he hated. Not that he realized it.

"That's it, Uke! Let's fight!"

"I don't fight weaklings."

"I'm not-"

"So win."

Naruto stopped, confused. "What?"

"Win your match. Then we'll fight in the semi-finals or finals. Whichever. Win. Then we'll be able to fight." He smirked. "Or are you too weak?"

Growling, Naruto straightened her back. "I'll get there no problem! Just make sure you don't get disqualified in the mean time, teme! I'll meet you there and I'll beat you and your duck-butt hair!"

"Don't diss the hair."

She examined the hair in question closely. "You know... Now that Sakura-chan's cut her hair, I think you may actually have the longest hair out of all of us if you just let it go down. How womanly of you."

She patted the hair gently, earning a scowl as he slapped the hand away. "It doesn't go down, dumbass! Stop touching it!"

Kiba turned towards them, his face contorted in disgust. "Just what the hell are you two talking about?"

* * *

A/N: Okay, so I'm sure that there are a _lot_ of mistakes. I apologize for that btw. But... I wrote half of this at like... 3-4 AM and the rest I rushed to get it out today. I'm sorry if it's OOC or bad quality. If you spot any mistakes or have some criticisms for it, I'd appreciate because... yeah. I suck and looking through my own work. I tend to just skim through it and always miss lots or won't add in something to make it better till way later. But yeah... A lot of important stuff happened this chapter. Which makes it worse because it's important and I definitely didn't take the time I should have. (sigh) hopefully it's not too bad!

**Q: Wouldn't someone have recognized Kusanagi?**

**A:** _Let's just say that for every owner, Kusanagi changes form._

**Q: Where was Lee in all this?**

**A:**_ He... was in the bathroom. Believe me. He regrets it too._

R&R! :D


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